CCPE-GT(2010)1(rev6)

Strasbourg, 5 October / octobre 2010

CONSEIL CONSULTATIF DE PROCUREURS EUROPEENS

CONSULTATIVE COUNCIL OF EUROPEAN PROSECUTORS

(CCPE)

Questionnaire sur

les principes d’action publique concernant les mineurs/ Questionnaire on

principles of public prosecution as regards juvenile justice

Réponses des pays suivant  /

Replies from the following countries :

Belgium/ Belgique, Croatia/ Croatie, Denmark/ Danemark, Spain/ Espagne, Estonia/ Estonie, Finland/ Finlande, Georgie/Georgia, Greece/ Grèce, Italy/ Italie, Netherlands/ Pays-Bas, Poland/ Pologne, Slovak Republic/ République Slovaque, Romania/ Roumanie, Slovenia/ Slovénie, Sweden/ Suède, Turkey/ Turquie, United Kingdom (England and Wales)/ Royaume Uni (Angleterre et pays de Galle), Scotland/ Ecosse, Ukraine/ Ukraine, Armenia/ Arménie, Portugal, Ireland/ Irlande, Russian Federation/ Fédération de Russie, Czech Republic/ République Tchèque, Cyprus/Chypre, France, Lettonie/Latvia, Suisse/Switzerland, Moldova, Monaco, Allemagne/Germany, Montenegro, Republic of Macedonia/République de Macédoine, Hungary/ Hongrie, Liechtenstein, Serbia/Serbie, Islande/Iceland, Albania/Albanie


Information générale

La justice des mineurs est un domaine complexe de l’action publique, qui pose des questions essentielles aux procureurs. Aujourd’hui, les fonctions d’un procureur chargé des affaires impliquant les mineurs vont au-delà de l’investigation et des procédures judiciaires car ils devraient être compétents pour d’autres activités telles que le travail avec des agences administratives et sociales, l’école et la communauté afin de prévenir les infractions par des mineurs.

Ce questionnaire couvre la poursuite des infractions où l’enfant est victime, témoin ou auteur. Il se concentre d’abord sur les mineurs dans le système de justice pénale, puis sur la place des enfants dans les affaires civiles et des procédures administratives.

L’objectif de ce questionnaire est de savoir quelles sont les normes et les bonnes pratiques relatives au rôle du procureur dans le domaine de la justice des mineurs dans les Etats membres du Conseil de l’Europe. Les réponses serviront de base pour la rédaction de l’Avis N°5 du Conseil Consultatif de Procureurs Européens sur « les principes d’action publique concernant les mineurs ».

Cette enquête est dirigée sur le rôle des procureurs, c’est pourquoi il revient aux membres du CCPE d’y répondre, en s’entourant le cas échéant de spécialistes de la justice de mineurs dans leur pays. Il ne s’agit donc nullement de la reprise de l’enquête sur la justice des mineurs effectuée en 2006 par le CDPC, toutefois, dans la partie « autres remarques et particularités » il conviendra de préciser si des réformes majeures de la justice pénale des mineurs et de protection des mineurs en danger, susceptibles de modifier de façon importante le rôle des procureurs, sont intervenues depuis 2006 ou si elles sont aujourd’hui en préparation.

Background information

Juvenile justice is one of the most challenging and complex field of action for prosecutors. Today the functions of juvenile prosecutors go beyond prosecution and proceedings as they should cope with other activities such as working with civic and social groups, school and the community itself to prevent juvenile crime.

This questionnaire addresses the prosecution of offences where a child is victim, witness or perpetrator. It primarily focuses on juveniles in the criminal justice system. Additionally it touches upon the place of children in civil cases and administrative proceedings.

The aim of this questionnaire is to find out the best practices and standards of the role of prosecutors in the field of juvenile justice in the Council of Europe member states. The replies to it will serve as a basis for the drafting of the Opinion N°5 of the Consultative Council of European Prosecutors on “the principles of public prosecution as regards juvenile justice”.

This survey is aimed at the role of public prosecutors, therefore it is up to the members of the CCPE to reply to it in consultation, if need be, with the specialists in juvenile justice in their countries. This exercise is a separate one from the survey on juvenile justice organised in 2006 by the CDPC. Nevertheless, the part of the questionnaire “any other remarks and peculiarities” should contain information regarding major reforms that have been done or are under way concerning juvenile justice in the criminal field and the protection of juveniles in danger which may involve important changes since 2006 as to the role of prosecutors in this field.

I.    Système de justice pénale / I.Criminal justice system:

1.    Dans votre pays, les procureurs ont-ils la charge d’appliquer une politique générale concernant la justice des mineurs ? Suivent-ils à cette fin des lignes directrices? (Si oui, veuillez préciser. Les réponses à cette question doivent inclure, entre autres, la dominante répressive ou éducative de la politique générale de votre pays ainsi que l’âge minimum pour la responsabilité pénale).

In your country, do public prosecutors have the duty to apply a general policy concerning juvenile justice? To do so, do they follow specific guidelines? (If yes, please specify. Answers to this question should include, inter alia, the prevailing character of the policy between more repressive or more educative as well as the minimum age of criminal responsibility and the minimum age under which it is not permissible to imprison a child.)

Belgium/ Belgique: L’article 37, § 1, alinéas 1 et 2 de la loi du 8 avril 1965 relative à la protection de la jeunesse et la prise en charge des mineurs ayant commis un fait qualifié infraction précise les facteurs à prendre en compte lors de la prise d’une mesure de garde, de préservation ou d’éducation par le tribunal de la jeunesse.  Ces facteurs sont :

-       la personnalité et le degré de maturité de l’intéressé ;

-       son cadre de vie ;

-       la gravité des faits, les circonstances dans lesquelles ils ont été commis, les dommages et les conséquences pour la victime ;

-       les mesures antérieures prises à l’égard de l’intéressé et son comportement durant l’exécution de celles-ci ;

-       la sécurité de l’intéressé ;

-       la sécurité publique.

On retrouve dans ces facteurs des objectifs protectionnel, restaurateur et de protection de la société.

Bien que le législateur n’ait pas précisé que ces éléments devaient également être considérés par les procureurs lorsqu’ils sont appelés à prendre une décision sur l’action publique, ils doivent aussi guider son action.

Les décisions des procureurs devront aussi tenir compte des principes de l’administration de la justice des mineurs formant le titre préliminaire de la loi du 8 avril 1965.  Il en sera ainsi particulièrement des principes suivants :

« (…) 3° l'administration de la justice des mineurs poursuit les objectifs d'éducation, de responsabilisation et de réinsertion sociale ainsi que de protection de la société;

  4° les mineurs ne peuvent, en aucun cas, être assimilés aux majeurs quant à leur degré de responsabilité et aux conséquences de leurs actes. Toutefois, les mineurs ayant commis un fait qualifié infraction doivent être amenés à prendre conscience des conséquences de leurs actes;

  5° les mineurs jouissent dans le cadre de la présente loi, à titre propre, de droits et libertés, au nombre desquels figurent ceux qui sont énoncés dans la Constitution et la Convention internationale relative aux droits de l'enfant, et notamment le droit de se faire entendre au cours du processus conduisant à des décisions qui les touchent et de prendre part à ce processus, ces droits et libertés devant être assortis de garanties spéciales :

a)    les jeunes ont le droit, chaque fois que la loi est susceptible de porter atteinte à certains de leurs droits et libertés, d'être informés du contenu de ces droits et libertés;

b)    les père et mère assument l'entretien, l'éducation et la surveillance de leurs enfants. Par conséquent, les jeunes ne peuvent être entièrement ou partiellement soustraits à l'autorité parentale que dans les cas où des mesures tendant au maintien de cette autorité sont contre-indiquées;

c)    la situation des mineurs ayant commis un fait qualifié infraction requiert surveillance, éducation, discipline et encadrement. Toutefois, l'état de dépendance où ils se trouvent, leur degré de développement et de maturité créent dans leur chef des besoins spéciaux qui exigent écoute, conseils et assistance;

d)    toute intervention comportant une mesure éducative vise à encourager le jeune à intégrer les normes de la vie sociale;

e)    dans le cadre de la prise en charge des mineurs ayant commis un fait qualifié infraction, il est fait recours, lorsque cela est possible, aux mesures, prévues par la loi, de substitution aux procédures judiciaires, et ce, en restant cependant attentif à l'impératif de protection sociale;

f)     dans le cadre de la loi, le droit des jeunes à la liberté ne peut souffrir que d'un minimum d'entraves commandées par la protection de la société, compte tenu des besoins des jeunes, des intérêts de leur famille et du droit des victimes. »

Pour les personnes âgées de moins de 12 ans au moment de la décision de la mesure, seules les mesures suivantes peuvent être prises : réprimander le jeune, le placer sous le contrôle du service social compétent, le soumettre à un accompagnement éducatif intensif et à un encadrement individualisé d’un éducateur référent.

Le tribunal ne peut ordonner la mesure deplacement en institution communautairepublique de protection de la jeunesse, enrégime éducatif fermé, qu’à l’égard des personnes qui ont quatorze ans ou plus.

Croatia/ Croatie: In the Republic of Croatia, pursuant to Article 4 of the Law on Juvenile Courts (NN no. 12/2002), general law, that is provisions of the Criminal Code, Criminal Procedure Act, Law on Courts, and Law on the protection of persons with mental disorders are applied to young perpetrators of criminal offences (juveniles and adolescents). These laws prescribe sanctions for criminal offences and other general regulations unless the Law on Juvenile Courts provides otherwise. Sanctions which may be prescribed and applied against juveniles are educational measures, juvenile imprisonment and security measures. A juvenile, who at the time of perpetration of the criminal offence is 14 years old, but under 16 (younger juvenile), may receive only educational measures, while a juvenile who at the time of perpetration of the criminal offence is 16 years old, but under 18 (older juvenile), may receive educational measures under conditions prescribed by the Law on Juvenile Courts and Juvenile Imprisonment. Security measures are also applied to juveniles under conditions prescribed by the Law on Juvenile Courts. Within general purpose of criminal sanctions (Article 6 of the Criminal Code) the purpose of juvenile sanctions is to influence the upbringing, development of character and strengthening of personal responsibility in juveniles by providing protection, care, assistance and supervision and securing general and professional education of juvenile perpetrator of a criminal offence. Minimal age threshold if criminal responsibility is 14 years.

            Juvenile imprisonment is a penalty of deprivation of freedom with specificities in regard to conditions of pronouncement, duration, purpose and content of the sanction. It may be pronounced to older juvenile for committing a criminal offence for which imprisonment of five (5) years or more is prescribed, if, taking into consideration nature and severity of criminal offence and high degree of guilt it is necessary to pronounce a sentence.

            Besides educational measures and juvenile imprisonment, security measures of compulsory psychiatric treatment, compulsory treatment of addiction, expulsion of aliens and forfeiture may also be applied toward juvenile perpetrators; security measure of prohibition to drive a motor vehicle may be applied toward older juvenile.

Provisions of the Criminal Code and criminal-law provisions of other laws of the Republic of Croatia are applied to younger juvenile perpetrators of criminal offences, under conditions prescribed by Article 9 of the Law on juvenile Courts and provisions applied for juvenile perpetrators. Pursuant to Article 109 younger adults adult may receive juvenile sanction when it can be concluded that, taking into consideration the type of criminal offence and the manner of its perpetration, in great length, it is a reflection of the age of a perpetrator and circumstances pointing to perpetrators character justify belief that the purpose of the sanction will be achieved by pronouncing educational measures or juvenile imprisonment. Educational measure may last no longer that until the perpetrator’s 23rd birthday. The longest measure of juvenile imprisonment is ten (10) years. If younger adult, at the time of the trial turns 21, he/she may receive prison sentence instead juvenile imprisonment, and if he/she turns 23 during the trial, he/she will receive prison sentence instead juvenile imprisonment. In case of application of educational measures and juvenile imprisonment to younger adults above mentioned security measures may be applied under same conditions as for juveniles. Security measure of prohibition to prohibition to engage in a profession cannot be applied to younger adult perpetrator.

            When general criminal law is applied to younger adult, court is not bound, with restrictions of mitigation of punishment listed in the Criminal Code, to pronounce the lowest measure of the prescribed sentence for the criminal offence. Court cannot pronounce a prison sentence to a younger adult for more than twelve (12) years, unless he/she committed criminal offence for which long-term imprisonment is prescribed or for committing concurrently adjudicated criminal offences (at least two) for which prison sentence longer than 10 years is prescribed.

Denmark/ Danemark: In Denmark, the minimum age of criminal responsibility is currently 15 years.

The Director of Public Prosecutions has issued specific guidelines concerning the handling by the Police and Prosecution Service of criminal cases against young offenders  (Instruction no. 4/2007).

Juveniles between the age of 12 and 14:

According to the Administration of Justice Act (AJA) the Police can detain a 12-14 year old offender for a short period of time if the conditions for arrest are fulfilled. The child can be detained in the police station e.g. while being interrogated and can as a general rule only be detained for up to six hours. If the crime is serious e.g. assault or gang related crime and it is imperative to the investigation, the child can be detained for more than six hours. However, the child can never be detained for more than 24 hours and cannot be placed in a room on its own for more than 6 hours.

If the Police are detaining a child, the social services and the parents have to be notified. Also, a representative from the social services as a general rule has to be present during a police interrogation. In cases of violent crime or other kinds of serious crime, the social services have to draw up a plan on how to give the child the support necessary and prevent the child from committing crimes in the future.

According AJA a child under the age of criminal responsibility can be offered (free) legal assistance, if this is needed due the complexity or seriousness of the case (e.g. murder or aggravated assault) or if the child is facing a very high claim for compensation.

 

Juveniles between the age of 15 and 17:

Where the offender is 15-17 years old the social services have to be notified to the same extent, as is the case with younger children.

Furthermore the Prosecution Service will ask the social services to recommend which type of sanction they find suitable for the offender in question. The prosecutor will then present the social services’ recommendation to the court.

In Denmark, an accused - including a 15-17 year old accused - can be detained on remand when there is a substantiated suspicion that he has committed an offence, which is prosecuted by the State, if under the law, the offence can result in imprisonment for one year and six months or more, and there are specific reason to presume, that he will abscond from the prosecution or the enforcement of the sentence, if there are specific reasons to fear that he at large will commit another offence, or if there are specific reasons to presume, that the accused will impede the prosecution of the case, particularly by removing evidence or warning or influencing others.

An accused can also be detained on remand when there is a particularly confirmed suspicion that he has committed an offence which under the law can result in imprisonment for six years or more, and due regard to enforcement of the law taking into account the seriousness of the matter, is found to require that the accused is not at large.

Finally, detention on remand can take place if the offence is a violation of e.g. the Danish Criminal Code’s (DCC) sections on assault and can be expected to result in an unconditional sentence of imprisonment for at least 60 days and due regard to enforcement of the law is found to require that the accused is not at large.

However according to AJA, detention on remand cannot be used if the offence can be expected to result in a sentence of a fine or imprisonment for any term not exceeding 30 days, or if the deprivation of liberty will otherwise be disproportional to the hereby caused intrusion in the affairs of the accused, the significance of the case, and the sanction that can be expected if the accused is found guilty.

If the conditions for detaining on remand are fulfilled, but the purpose of the detention can be attained through less interfering measure, the court renders, if the accused consents hereto, such a decision in the place of detention. E.g. the court can decide that the accused shall reside in a suitable home or institution.

When the accused is 15-17 years old detention on remand is generally considered disproportional if the accused is to be put in a prison amongst adult offenders for a longer period of time. Therefore, before the court hearing, in order to avoid a disproportional deprivation of liberty, the prosecution will seek to ensure that a secured youth institution is able to receive the accused. 

Furthermore, when the accused is 15-17 years old the AJA establishes maximum detaining periods (depending on the seriousness of the crime), that are significantly lower than those that apply to adult offender normal.

Spain/ Espagne: Public prosecutors have the duty to apply the guidelines given by the General Prosecution Office in order to gain uniformity and security in the interpretation of Law. This also applies to juvenile justice. However, the guidelines use to be general. There are no guidelines on minimum age of criminal responsibility because this is a subject that is already established by Law. There is no responsability (no even juvenile responsibility) below 14 years old (article 2 Minors Criminal Liability Law 5/2000, from now on LORPM).

The guidelines given by the General Prosecution Office underlines the necessity of giving due respect to the educative orientation of the procedure and of the sanctions and measures adopted.

There are no guidelines to specify a minimum age to imprision a child because this is a subject that is already established by Law. Minors can never enter into the Penitenciary Sistem: Minors who have been convicted under the Juvenile Justice to a sanction involving deprivation of liberty are never held in institutions for adults, but in institutions specially designed for them (article 45 LORPM).

When minors who have been convicted under the Juvenile Justice reach the age of majority, they are normally kept in institutions for juvenile offenders unless their behaviour is incompatible with staying in it. When they reach the age of 21 they are transferred to institutions for adults as a general rule, but it is possible to maintain them in institutions for juvenile offenders, if the socialization process is being positive. The possibilities of transferring to an institution for adults only applies if a sanction of deprivation of liberty in close regime has been imposed (is the most serious sanction of deprivation of liberty) (article 14 LORPM).

Estonia/ Estonie: According to the Child Protection Act, if a child who has committed a criminal offence is punished, criminal punishment, particularly imprisonment, shall be used only as a measure of last resort and is to be avoided. In the case of a child who has committed a criminal offence, measures such as counselling, probation, reconciliation, curatorship, and educational programmes for the prevention of legal offences shall first be applied.  

For the purpose of ensuring the need arising from international and national legislation for uniform special treatment of minors in criminal proceedings, the Chief Public Prosecutor of Estonia has provided investigative bodies and prosecutor’s offices with directions for pre-trial proceedings and recommendations for judicial proceedings in criminal matters where persons below the age of 18 participate in as victims, witnesses, suspects, or accused.

The primary purpose of penal power in the case of minors is to prevent the commission of new criminal offences, help them catch up socially, and integration. Thus, the primary purpose of affecting a minor is to educate, not to punish him or her. Requesting a prison sentence to a minor must be exceptional and deliberated by the prosecutor and it must be applied when choosing an alternative type of punishment is not justified.

In the Republic of Estonia, a person is capable of guilt if he or she is at least fourteen years old when committing the offence.

                        Finland/ Finlande: All stages of the criminal procedure generally seek, in principle, to expedite cases involving juvenile perpetrators. The system also generally endeavours to avoid imprisonment as a coercive method and unconditional imprisonment as a penal measure, except where otherwise absolutely required by the severity of the offence.

                              Section 4 of chapter 3 of the Criminal Code of Finland states that a prerequisite for criminal liability is that the perpetrator had reached the age of fifteen years at the time of the act. Sentences for offences committed by persons under the age of 18 years are determined according to a mitigated penal latitude. In such cases section 8 of chapter 6 of the Criminal Code provides that at most three-quarters of the maximum sentence of imprisonment or fine and at least the minimum sentence provided for the offence may be imposed on the perpetrator. If the offence is punishable by life imprisonment, the maximum punishment is instead twelve years of imprisonment and the minimum punishment is two years of imprisonment.

Section 9 of chapter 6 of the Criminal Code provides that a sentence of imprisonment for a fixed period not exceeding two years may be conditional (conditional imprisonment) unless the seriousness of the offence, the guilt of the perpetrator as manifested in the offence, or the criminal history of the perpetrator requires the imposition of an unconditional sentence of imprisonment. However, an unconditional sentence of imprisonment shall not be imposed for an offence committed when the perpetrator was under 18 years of age, unless this is demanded by weighty reasons.

Under chapter 6, section 10, subsection 2 of the Criminal Code, a person who has committed an offence when under 21 years of age may be subjected to supervision in order to reinforce conditional imprisonment, where this is to be deemed justified in view of the social adaptation of the perpetrator and the prevention of further offences.

Section 10a of chapter 6 of the Criminal Code provides for a special juvenile penalty, which may be imposed for an offence committed before reaching the age of 18 years if:

 

1.    a fine is, with consideration to the seriousness of the offence, the guilt of the perpetrator manifested in the offence and the criminal history of the perpetrator, an insufficient punishment, and there are no weighty reasons requiring the imposing of an unconditional sentence of imprisonment, and 2. the imposing of a juvenile penalty is to be deemed justified in order to promote the     social adaptation of the perpetrator and the prevention of new offences.

 

A juvenile penalty may also be imposed under the foregoing conditions if only part of the offences heard at the same time before the court were committed while under the age of 18 years.

The duration and nature of the juvenile penalty are governed by a separate Act on juvenile penalties. Section 2 of the said Act provides that the minimum duration of the juvenile penalty is four months and the maximum duration is one year.

A person sentenced to a juvenile penalty remains under supervision for the duration of the penalty. The juvenile penalty includes supervision meetings, supervised assignments and programmes to promote social interaction skills, and associated support and guidance. The juvenile penalty also includes supervised orientation to working life and working in general, except where this is considered clearly unnecessary or especially difficult to arrange.

Section 6 of chapter 1 of the Criminal Procedure Act requires the public prosecutor to prefer charges if there is a prima facie case against a suspect. An exception to this mandatory prosecution for juvenile perpetrators is noted in paragraph 2 of section 7 of chapter 1 of the said Act. whereby the public prosecutor may waive prosecution for an offence committed by a person under 18 years of age, for which a penalty no more severe than a fine or imprisonment for no longer than six months is anticipated and the offence is deemed to be the result of lack of judgment or incaution rather than heedlessness of the prohibitions and commands of the law.

According to section 13 of chapter 5 of the Criminal Procedure Act, if a defendant under 18 years of age is charged with an offence which, under the circumstances referred to in the charge, is subject to a penalty more severe than imprisonment for six months, the main hearing is to take place within 30 days of the time when the criminal case became pending. If the main hearing is cancelled, a new main hearing must take place within 30 days of the originally scheduled date for the main hearing. This ensures that criminal cases against juveniles are processed as quickly as possible.

Greece/ Grèce: In Greek legal order, the protection of child age and juvenility, the function of minors courts, their special penal jurisdiction and the establishment of the procedure “in camera” are secured by the Constitution (article 21 par.1, 3 and 96 par.3). Minors Public Prosecutors, as well as Minors Judges follow its dispositions and the special penal or procedural dispositions provided for the penal treatment of minors (mostly articles 121 to 133 of Penal Code, as those were modified at a large extent by Law 3189/2003 “Reform of minors criminal law” (Official gazette A’243/21.10.2003) and the disperse provisions of penal procedure articles concerning special dispositions on minors.

The age limit of minors’ criminal responsibility is 13 years completed, according to article 127 of Greek Penal Code and in particular:

   Minors criminally irresponsible and Minors criminally responsible

   Minors of 8 to 13 years of age who committed criminal acts are penally prosecuted, but the Minors Court imposes only penitentiary or remedial measures (article 126 par.2 in combination to article 122-123 of Penal Code, as replaced by article 1 of Law 3189/2003) and are considered criminally irresponsible, while the Minors Court imposes to minors who have completed the thirteenth year of age (article 126 par.3 of Penal Code) mainly penitentiary or remedial measures and only exceptionally the disposition of article 127 of Penal Code is applied, they are therefore considered criminally responsible and are condemned to confinement in a special juvenile detention establishment, if it is deemed that “penal reformation of the minor is necessary to restrain him from committing new offenses”.

Italy/ Italie: According to the Italian Constitution, the criminal action is mandatory. Not having discretion in this respect, when public prosecutors are informed of a crime they must prosecute any illegal conduct. This principle applies also to crimes committed by juveniles.

No specific guidelines are provided for, but a special procedure is provided for proceedings and criminal trials against juvenile defendants. It is partly different from the procedure concerning adult defendants:

-       particular attention is paid to the personality of the young defendant;

-       the main aim of the trial is to re-educate him/her;

-       the social service plays a relevant role;

-       the provisional arrest is not mandatory;

-       preventive custody is differently regulated and specific rules are provided for all precautiory measures;

-       when the defendant is found guilty, not only the conviction, but also other different outcomes are provided for trials.

The minimum age for criminal responsibility is fourteen.

Netherlands/ Pays-Bas: The general objective of Dutch juvenile criminal law and procedure is to prevent persistent offending. It is also designed to play an educative role. The Netherlands has a separate juvenile justice system that includes a large number of interventions aimed at positively influencing the behaviour of young offenders. In addition, the Code of Criminal Procedure contains a number of separate procedural safeguards related to the special approach taken to young offenders during proceedings. In brief, the dual aim of juvenile justice is to set limits and to protect.         

Poland/ Pologne: Polish legislation does not provide specific powers of prosecutors in applying the general policy in cases of juveniles. The tasks of prosecutors in this area are the same as in the cases of adults offenders. However, in Polish legal system exist certain procedural differences connected with juveniles.

The general policy of the juvenile justice is more educational than repressive. In this regard, in a preamble of the Act of 26 October 1982 on proceedings in juveniles cases, emphasis is laid on: the desire to prevent demoralization and juvenile delinquency and creating conditions for the return to normal life to juveniles who have fallen in conflict with the law or the principles of conduct in the community,  and the desire to strengthening the functions of care and education and the responsibility of families for the upbringing of juveniles.

According to article 10 of Polish Penal Code any person, who commits a   prohibited act after having attained the age of 17 years shall be liable under the provisions of this Code.

However, a juvenile, who after attaining the age of 15 years shall commit the prohibited act specified in the following articles of Polish Penal Code may be liable under the provisions specified in this Code, under certain conditions - if the circumstances of the case and the mental state of development of the perpetrator, his characteristics and personal situation warrant it, and especially when previously applied educational or corrective measures have proved ineffective. Above mentioned acts are specified in the following articles of the Penal Code:

·         Article 134: attempt on the life of the President of the Republic of Poland

·         Article 148. § 1, 2 or 3: homicide, murder

·         Article 156 § 1 or 3: severe detriment to health

·         Article 163 § 1 or 3: causing a dangerous event

·         Article 166: high seas and air piracy

·         Article 173 § 1 or 3: causing a disaster in traffic

·         Article 197 § 3: rape with another person (group)

·         Article 252 § 1 or 2: taking of hostages

·         Article 280: robbery

In these cases (juvenile under 15 years), the penalty imposed may not exceed two-thirds of the statutory maximum penalty for the offence imputed to the perpetrator. Additionally,  the court may also apply an extraordinary mitigation of punishment.

According to the article 10 para. 4 of the Penal Code (PC), when the circumstances of the case and the mental state of development of the perpetrator, his characteristics and personal situation warrant it, with regard to the perpetrator who commits a prohibited act after having attained 17 years of age but before having reached the age of 18 years, the court shall, instead of a penalty, adopt educational, therapeutic, or corrective measures prescribed for juveniles.

The article 54 of the Penal Code provides that, by imposing a penalty on a juvenile or a young offender, the court  shall be targeted primarily to educate the offender.  However, that in view of the perpetrator, who at the time of the offense has not completed 18 years of age, not imposes a penalty of life imprisonment. Under Polish Penal Code a penalty of the deprivation of liberty for life shall not be imposed on the perpetrator who was under 18 at the time of the commission of the offence.

According to the Article 72 para. 1 point 4 of the Penal Code, suspending the execution of a penalty, the court may require the convicted person to do a job, to study or training for a profession, which seems to be a measure which should be used in relation to juveniles and young offenders.

Moreover, in the case of suspension of imprisonment for juvenile offender the  supervision is mandatory and is carried out by  a probation officer or a person of public trust, association, or community organisation whose activities include educational care, preventing the demoralisation of or providing assistance to sentenced persons (Article 73 para. 2 PC).

The Act on proceedings in juveniles cases, provides that family court may:

1) give a warning;

2) oblige a juvenile to specified conduct, particularly to redressing the damage, to perform specific jobs or benefits to the victim or the community, to apologize to the victim, to study or work, to participate in relevant activities of an educational, therapeutic, or training nature, to refrain from staying in certain environments or locations, or to refrain from using alcohol or other means to enter the state of intoxication,

3) establish supervision responsibility of the parents or guardian,

4) establish a supervision of youth organization, or other social organization, the workplace or a trustworthy person;

5) use the guardian supervision;

6) refer to guardian’s center, as well as social organizations or institutions working with children of a educational, therapeutic, or training character, after consultation with the organization or institution;

7) decide upon a driving ban;

8) declare the forfeiture of goods obtained in connection with a criminal offense;

9) decide upon a placement with a foster family, in a youth educational center or youth center of sociotherapy;

10) decide upon a placement in correctional center for juveniles; (detention center for juveniles);

11) take other measures reserved to the family court, as well as to apply the measures provided for in the Family and Custodianship Code.

Slovak Republic/ République Slovaque: Juvenile justice in the Slovak Republic is not governed and regulated under any separate legal rules and it does not follow any specific guidelines, even after the reform of the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code in 2005; it is still incorporated in these general criminal Codes. However, both aforementioned Codes take a due account of particularities of proceedings involving juvenile offenders. Relevant substantive provisions can be found in Chapter IV of the General Part of the Criminal Code under the heading “Specific Procedures for Dealing with Juvenile Offenders”, and particularities of procedures involving juvenile offenders are governed in Section Three of Chapter VII, Subsection II of the Criminal Procedure Code under the heading “Prosecution of Juvenile Offenders”.

Juvenile offenders can be divided into three categories based on their age:

Criminal Proceedings Involving Juveniles

                                                                                                        

Particularities of criminal proceedings [Sec. 336 – Sec. 347 of the Criminal Procedure Code) are displayed mainly in the following:

The above-mentioned principles and guidelines contained in the Criminal Code and in the Criminal Procedure Code must be followed and observed also by prosecutors. There are no specific policies, which would apply to prosecutors within the juvenile justice system.

Romania/ Roumanie: Yes. As a body engaged in carrying out the justice for juveniles, one of the prosecutors’ duties during the criminal investigation stage is enforcing a derogatory penal treatment and a milder penalizing regime foreseen by the criminal law for the juvenile offenders.

according to article 99, paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Criminal Code, the minimum age for the criminal liability of a minor is 14 years old, without exceptions, the lack of discernment is legally purely presumed, and 16 years old, if the existence of discernment is not proved, which is presumed until proved otherwise.

The prevailing nature of the policy is educational. Thus, the law provides that against the minors who committed a criminal deed and are criminally liable, an educational measure can be enforced or a punishment can be applied. When selecting the sanction the following factors will be given consideration: the degree of social risk of the committed offence, the physical state, the intellectual and moral development, the minor’s behavior, the conditions in which he /she was raised and in which he/she lived and any other elements that could characterize the minor’s person.

These elements are also established by means of the evaluation report.

Thus, according to art. 482 of the Law no. 29/1968 – Criminal Procedure Code:

In the cases dealing with juvenile accused or defendants, the prosecutor controlling or, depending on the case, conducting the prosecution may require, when he/she deems it necessary, that the probation service attached to the tribunal in the territorial circumscription of which the minor resides do the evaluation report, under the law.

In the cases dealing with juvenile defendants, the court of law has the obligation to order the accomplishment of the evaluation report by the probation service attached to the tribunal in the territorial circumscription of which the minor resides, under the law, with the exception of the case in which the accomplishment of the evaluation report was requested during the criminal prosecution, according to the provisions under par. 1, situation in which the court’s requiring of the report is optional.

The evaluation report is accomplished according to the structure and content foreseen by the special legislation regulating the activity of the probation services.

The evaluation report was introduced by Law no. 356 of July 21st 2006 so as to modify and complete the Criminal Procedure Code, as well as to modify other laws. Heretofore, the same text (art. 482) stipulated the fulfillment of a social enquiry, “consisting in collecting data on the regular conduct of the minor, on his/her physical and mental condition, on his/her antecedents, on the conditions in which he/she was raised or in which he/she has lived, on the manner in which the parents, the tutor or the person in whose care the minor is perform their duties towards the latter and, generally speaking, on any elements that may lead to adopting a measure or to enforcing a sanction toward the minor.

The social enquiry is done by persons appointed by the tutelary authority of the local council in the territorial circumscription of which the minor resides.”

The evaluation report is a more qualified instrument than the social enquiry.

The punishment shall apply only when it is considered that an educational measure is not sufficient in order for the minor to turn (according to article 100 of the Criminal Code). In this case, the limits of the punishments provided by the law for the committed offence shall be reduced to half (according to article 109 of the Criminal Code). After the reduction, under no circumstances shall the minimum of the punishment exceed five years.

When for the committed offence, the law provides for the punishment of life detention, the imprisonment between 5 and 20 years shall be applied to the minor.

Complementary punishments shall not be applied to the minor.

The convictions pronounced for offences committed while being a minor shall not draw incapacities or termination of rights, nor the recurrence state.

In case of the conditional suspension of the punishment execution applied to the minor, the trying period shall consist in the duration of the prison punishment adding up a time period between 6 months and 2 years, set by the court. The trying period is 6 months, if the punishment applied is the fine.

Therefore, the enforcement of a punishment is an exceptional and subsidiary measure to the enforcement of an educational measure. There is no minimum legal age under which the prison punishment shall not be allowed for a child. The judge shall select the sanction, and the assessment shall not be subjective, but based on the selection criteria foreseen by the law: the physical state, the intellectual and moral development and so on.

The educational measures that can be applied to the minor are provided by article 101 of the Criminal Code:

a)            the reprimand;

b)            freedom under observation;

c)            the confinement into a reeducation center;

d)            the confinement into a medical-educational institute.

the educational measure of freedom under observation consists in freeing the minor during one year, under a special supervision.

The measures foreseen by article 101 letters c) and d) are taken for an indefinite period, but they can last only until the age of 18 years old.

The measure of the confinement into a medical-educational institute must be lifted immediately after the cause that imposed this measure has ceased. The court, ordering that the measure be lifted, may, if necessary, apply the minor the measure of confinement into a reeducation center. The moment when the minor reaches full age, the court may order the prorogation of the confinement over a period of 2 years, if it is necessary for the achievement of the confinement purpose.

Slovenia/ Slovénie: In Slovenia there are no specific guidelines for dealing with criminal cases involving juveniles as perpetrators, victims or witnesses of crime. On the other hand we have general policy concerning juvenile justice. First of all the state prosecutors in our country have the obligation to deal with this type of cases applying the principle of priority. They have to work on these cases without undue delay. The character of our criminal proceedings is not only criminal repression. We primarily try to find out relevant circumstances in witch the offence was done and establishing the personality and living conditions of juvenile perpetrators. One of the most important purposes is also to choose the right criminal sanction.

The minimal age regarding criminal responsibility in Slovenia is 14 years, but we have the division into younger juveniles (years between 14 and 16) and older juveniles (years between 16 and 18). The prison sentence is applicable only for older juveniles and only if prescribed criminal sanction for the offence is 5 or more years of imprisonment.

Sweden/ Suède: In Sweden there is a special law (1964:167) concerning juvenile perpetrators. This law deals with persons who have not reached the age of twenty one. It is quite an extensive law that cannot be referred to in its entirety. The idea of the law, however, is to on one hand protect the juveniles from interfering with criminals and to undertake the hard conditions in a prison and on the other hand promote them to a descent future life free from criminality.

The minimum age for criminal responsibility in Sweden is 15 years of age.

There are three limits for imprisonment of a young person. A person should not be imprisoned before 21 years of age. Concerning very serious crimes it is possible to imprison a person who is between 18 and 21. Between 15 and 18 it should be extremely rare with imprisonment and it can only happen in very, very, special cases. The Swedish Penal Code Chapter 30, section 5 says: If a crime has been committed by a person who has not attained the age of eighteen, the court may impose imprisonment only if there are extraordinary reasons for so doing. It follows from the provisions of Chapter 31, Section 1a, that “the court shall, in the first place, sentence to closed juvenile care if a person who has attained the age of eighteen but not twenty-one has committed a crime, the court may impose imprisonment only if, in view of the penal value of the crime or other special reasons, this course of action is justified”.

Chapter 32 section 1 deals with committal to special care for persons who are under the age of twenty one and can be sentenced to treatment or other measure under the Social Services Act or the Care of Young Persons Special Provisions Act.

Chapter 32 section 2 says that a person who is under twenty one may be sentenced to youth service if the juvenile consents and the sentence is appropriate to his or her person and the circumstances in the specific case. A person who is older than eighteen may be sentenced to youth service only if there are reasonable grounds for it. 

Turkey/ Turquie: - According the Article 61. of the Turkish Constitution  the state has to  take all kinds of measures for social resettlement of children in need of protection and to achieve these aims the state has to  establish the necessary organizations or facilities.

The public prosecutor has according the articles 18, 19 and 20 Law on the Establishing, Duties and Competences of Courts of First Instance and Regional Courts in the  Ordinary Judiciary  (Law Nr. 5235)  the obligation a) to  investigate if there is a need to file a public trial or not b) to follow up  the prosecutions on behalf of the public, to attend and if necessary  appeal them, according  the rules settled in laws c) to perform the related procedures for the execution of the court decisions and d) to perform the juridical and administrative taskse) to  carry out other duties  given by laws

The  Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395 ) which has been adopted on 3th July 2005  sets up the general policies and rules which the public prosecutor has to comply with during his/her  activities.

The law defines  in Article 1 its purpose as “to regulate the procedures and principles with regard to protecting juveniles who are in need of protection or who are pushed to crime, and ensuring their rights and well-being”.

In order to protect the rights of juveniles   the law uses the expression “children who are pushed to crime”.

The public prosecutors must as regards the Article 4  of the law mentioned above observe by their  actions  the following fundamental principles:

a) safeguarding juveniles’ right to life, development, protection and participation,

b) safeguarding the interest and well-being of juveniles,

c) no discrimination towards the juvenile or his/her family for any reason whatsoever,

d) ensuring the participation of the juvenile and his/her family in the process via keeping them informed,

e) cooperation between the juvenile, his/her family, the related authorities, public institutions and non-governmental organizations,

f) following a procedure that is based on human rights, fair, effective and swift,

g) employing special care appropriate to the situation of the juvenile throughout the investigation or prosecution process,

h) supporting the juvenile in developing his/her personality, social responsibility and education as appropriate for his/her age and development, when taking and implementing the decisions,

i) Penalty of imprisonment and measures that restrict liberty shall be the last resort for juveniles,

j) When deciding measures, caring at institution and keeping at institution shall be considered as the last resort; when taking and implementing the decisions, ensuring that social responsibility is shared,

k) Keeping juveniles separate from adults at the institutions where they are cared for and looked after and where the court decisions are implemented,

l) Taking measures to prevent others from detecting the identity of the juvenile in transactions related to juveniles, trials and when carrying out the decisions.”

-          The prevailing character of the policy is protecting and educative rather than repressive.

-          This can be understood from Article 5/1 of the law  which uses the wording “before all else” by the separating of the measures foreseen in the law: 

-         

-          Protective and supportive measures are measures to be taken in terms of consulting, education, care, health and shelter, for the purpose of protecting the juvenile within his/her own family environment before all else.”

The protective and supportive measures anticipated in the law are  as follows:

a) Consultancy measure, is a measure oriented to providing guidance on child rearing to those who are responsible for the care of the juvenile, and guidance to juveniles on solving problems related to their education and development;

b) Education/training measure, is a measure oriented to ensure that the juvenile attends an education institution as a day-student or boarding student, attends a vocational training course or arts and crafts course, or is deployed with a master of profession or at a workplace belonging to the public or private sector for the purpose of acquiring a job or a profession,

c) Care measure, is a measure to make governmental or private care centre services or foster family services available for the juvenile or place the juvenile under the care of such institutions, in the event that the person responsible for the care of the juvenile fails to fulfill his/her care duties due to any reason,

d) Health measure, is a measure to ensure necessary temporary or continuous medical care and rehabilitation for treatment and protection of the juvenile’s physical and physiological health, and treatment and therapy for juveniles who use addictive substances,

e) Shelter measure is a measure to provide a suitable shelter for those who have children but do not have a place to live, or to pregnant women whose lives are in danger.

The identification and address information of those about whom a shelter measure as defined in paragraph 1 subparagraph (e) is being implemented shall be kept confidential if they so demand.

If it is established that the juvenile is not under any danger, or if it is understood that, although the juvenile is in danger, such danger can be eliminated by supporting the juvenile’s parent or guardian or the person who is responsible for the juvenile’s care, then the juvenile shall be delivered to these persons. For the purposes of this paragraph, one of the measures specified in paragraph one can also be decided with regard to the juvenile.

Beyond that the public prosecutor has to comply with the rules set in article 30  of the Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395:

He/She has,

-  to carry out the investigation procedures related to juveniles pushed to crime,

-  to ensure that necessary measures are taken without any delay, in cases which require measures to be taken with regard to juveniles,

- to work in cooperation with the relevant public institutions and organizations and non-governmental organizations for the purpose of providing the necessary support services to juveniles who need help, education, employment or shelter, from among juveniles who need protection, who are victims of a crime or who are pushed to delinquency; and to notify such and similar cases to the authorized institutions and organizations, and

- to carry out the duties specified in this Law and in other laws. “

But “ in cases where delay is considered to be risky, these duties may also be carried out by Public prosecutors who are not assigned to juvenile bureaus.”

- The  age of criminal responsibility is settled in article 31 of the Turkish Criminal Code.

According the law;

·                     Minors under the age of twelve are exempt from criminal liability.

·                     While such minors cannot be prosecuted, security measures in respect of minors may be imposed.

·                     Where a minor is older than twelve, but younger than fifteen, at the time of an offence, and he is either incapable of appreciating the legal meaning and consequences of his act or his capability to control his behavior is underdeveloped then he  shall be exempt from criminal liability.

However, such minors may be subject to security measures specific to children.

·                     Where the minor has the capability to comprehend the legal meaning and result of the act and to control his behaviors in respective of his act, for offences requiring a penalty of aggravated life imprisonment, a term of twelve to fifteen years of imprisonment shall be imposed and for offences that require a penalty of life imprisonment, a term of nine to eleven years imprisonment shall be imposed. Otherwise the penalty to be imposed shall be reduced by half, save for the fact that for each act such penalty shall not exceed seven years. <0}

·                     Where a minor is older than fifteen but younger than eighteen years at the time of the offence then for crimes that require a penalty of aggravated life imprisonment a term of eighteen to twenty four years of imprisonment shall be imposed and for offences that require a penalty of life imprisonment twelve to fifteen years of imprisonment shall be imposed. Otherwise the penalty to be imposed shall be  reduced by one-third, save for the fact that the penalty for each act shall not exceed twelve years.

Therefore it is possible to consider  that in Turkish criminal law  the responsibility ages of juveniles is separated in two  parts: From the age of 12 to 15, and 15 to 18.

But a different criterion exists together with the age of responsibility for the minors between 12 and 15.

It has first to be checked out by a medical attest  if the minor older than 12 but younger than 15 “is incapable of appreciating the legal meaning and consequences of his act” or “his capability to control his behavior is underdeveloped”.

If it is clear that the  minor older than 12 but younger than 15  has the capability to comprehend the legal meaning and result of the act and to control his behaviors in respective of his act he benefits from a more reduction of the penalty than the minors between 15 and 18. For the minor older than 12 but younger than 15  a maximum limit of 7 years imprisonment  too is foreseen for each crime. 

This criterion mentioned above as regards the mental capabilities of the minor does not apply to the minors between the ages 15 and 18. Their mental capabilities fall within the general clauses of the law foreseen for mental disorders.  But the special measurements foreseen in Juvenile Protection Law has to be applied them too. For the minor older than 15 but younger than 18  a maximum limit of 12  years imprisonment  is foreseen for each crime commited.

·                     However  the  provisions of the Turkish Criminal Code  which relate to minors over fifteen years of age but under eighteen of age has to  be applied to deaf and mute persons who are over eighteen years of age but under twenty years of age.

- According Article 45 of the Turkish Criminal Code the penalties foreseen for criminal offences are imprisonment and judicial fines.

When we consider the Article 31 of the Turkish Criminal Code mentioned above we may understand that the children under 12 cannot be imprisoned even they should have committed  a crime. But an investigation as regards their crimes can be performed. And  special measurements mentioned  in the  Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395)   could  be ordered for them too.

- According the Article 21 of the Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395) there is a prohibition of arrest for children from the age 12 to 15 if the crime they committed does not shall request an imprisonment more than 5 years.

England and Wales/ Angleterre et le pays de Galle: The Code for Crown Prosecutors, issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions, under section 10 Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 is the principal guidance that prosecutors must apply when making decisions about all prosecutions, whether of youths or adults. The Code sets out the test that must be applied to all decisions to prosecute. The first stage of the test is consideration of the evidence. A prosecutor must be satisfied that there is enough evidence to provide a “realistic prospect of conviction” before a case can pass to the second stage. If the case does not pass the evidential stage it must not go ahead no matter how important or serious it may be.

The second stage of the test is the public interest which must be considered in every case where there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction. Prosecutors must balance factors for and against prosecution carefully and fairly. Paragraph 8.8 of the Code requires Crown Prosecutors to consider the interests of a youth when deciding whether it is in the public interest to prosecute. However, a prosecution should not be avoided only because a defendant is under 18. The seriousness of the offence and past offending behaviour are also relevant considerations.

Paragraph 8.9 of the Code explains that youth cases are usually only referred to the Crown Prosecution Service for prosecution if the youth has already received a reprimand and warning (out of court formal diversionary measures administered by the police.) This is because reprimands and warnings are intended to prevent offending and the fact that a further offence has occurred indicates that attempts to divert the youth from court have not been effective. The public interest will usually require a prosecution in such cases. Sometimes a first offence is too serious for diversion and the public interest will require a prosecution. A youth must admit an offence before he can be eligible for a reprimand or warning. If he denies the offence, the public interest may require a prosecution

The Code is supplemented by legal guidance on youth offenders which is published on the Crown Prosecution Service website. The guidance sets out the key considerations that apply in all youth cases, namely:

·         The welfare principle ( section 44 Children and Young Persons Act 1933) that requires courts to have regard to the welfare of all children and young people appearing before the court, whether as defendants, victims or witnesses;

·         The principal aim of the youth justice system (section 37 Crime and Disorder Act 1998) which is to prevent offending;

·         The European Convention on Human Rights;

·         The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989;

·         The United Nations Minimum Standards for Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules) 1985.

It seeks to strike a balance between the interests of a young person who has less insight into the causes and consequences of his offending behaviour than an adult and the need to protect the public from harm caused through further offending.

The guidance applies to all youth offenders who are those aged 10 to 17 inclusive. The age of criminal responsibility was set at 10 by Parliament (Children and Young Persons Act 1963.)

The youth court has no power to sentence a child of 10 or 11 to custody. It can sentence youths aged 15, 16 and 17 to a custodial sentence (Detention and Training Order) of up to 24 months. It can also pass this sentence on youths aged 12, 13 and 14 if they are “persistent.” This is likely to mean that the youth has been convicted of or has admitted to the police that he has committed imprisonable offences on at least 3 occasions in the past 12 months.

Youths can be tried in the Crown Court, where they are jointly tried with an adult, or where the alleged offence is so serious that a lengthy period of detention may be appropriate. These offences include rape, residential burglary, wounding with intent to commit grievous bodily harm. If the youth is convicted of on of these offences by a jury, the Crown Court can pass a sentence that does not exceed the maximum that could be passed on a person aged 21 or over. In practice, a youth will usually receive a shorter sentence of about half to three quarters of the adult sentence.

Youths who are sentenced to custody may be detained in a secure children’s home ( run either by the local authority or a private company), a secure training centre ( run by private companies, or , in the case of older youths in a young offender institution or prison. In the latter case, those under the age of 18 are accommodated in a separate building from those aged 18 to 21.

Scotland/ Ecosse: In Scotland the decision on whether to prosecute is within the discretion of the public prosecutor (in most cases the Procurators Fiscal). Guidance and policy in terms of the decision making process in respect of deciding whether to prosecute is not enshrined in any legislation but rather is contained in guidance issued by the Law Officers and other officials in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. When considering whether to prosecute the prosecutor must be satisfied that there is sufficient admissible evidence in the case and that a prosecution would be in the public interest.

In Scotland the age of criminal responsibility is set at eight years old, no child under this age can be guilty of any offence.[1]

Where a child is under the age of sixteen years, there is a presumption in favour of such cases being dealt with by the Children’s Reporter[2] and criminal proceedings should only be taken where there are compelling reasons in the public interest to do so.

There are various alternatives to prosecution which may also be applicable in each individual case based on the circumstances.[3]

Ukraine: The criminal law secures better criminal protection of juveniles and provides for some specific procedures for bringing juveniles to the criminal liability, assignment of punishment, relief from punishment and completion of sentences with due regard for their biological, psychological and social features. Such position relies on the international legal acts, in particular, the Declaration of the Rights of the Child dd. November 20, 1959 saying that “a child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection” (Preamble).

Criminal proceedings of juvenile crimes are based on the general principles of the criminal law and the criminal procedure. However, they have some peculiarities dealing with the age limitation for bringing juveniles to criminal responsibility, limited types and terms of sentences, application of other measures not related with the criminal penalties (compulsory measures of educational character), circumstances in proof, the number and status of persons taking part in the criminal proceedings etc.

In general, persons who have reached the age of 16 before the commitment of a criminal offense shall be criminally liable (paragraph 1 of Article 22 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), and persons who have committed especially grave crimes (a murder; an attempted killing of a statesperson or public figure, a law enforcement officer etc.; an intended grievous bodily injury; an intended bodily injury of medium gravity; sabotage; gansterism; an act of terrorism; hostage taking; rape; violent unnatural satisfaction of sexual desire; theft; robbery; brigandage; extortion; willful destruction or endamagement of property; endamagement of communication routes and means of transportation; theft or seizure of the railroad rolling stock, an air-, sea- or a river-craft; misappropriation of a vehicle; and hooliganism) shall be criminally liable after reaching 14 years (paragraph 2 of Article 22 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The necessity to single out special provisions on the criminal liability of juveniles is predetermined by the principles of fairness and humanism, as well as the objective of their re-socialization.

The courts adopt measures of educational character against minors in the age under 11, who have committed socially dangerous acts meeting criteria of a crime, until an offender reaches the official age of criminal responsibility, as provided for by Article 105 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (warning; restriction of leisure time and special requirements to a minor's conduct; placing a minor under supervision of his/her parents or foster parents, or school teachers or colleagues upon their consent, or other individuals at their request; obliging a minor, who has attained 15 years of age and possesses any property, money or has any earnings, to compensate any pecuniary damages; placing a minor in a special educational and correctional institution for children and teenagers until the minor's complete correction but for a term not exceeding three years.)

Subject to paragraph 1 of Article 97 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, a minor under 18 who has committed a crime of minor or medium gravity for the first time, may be discharged from criminal liability, provided that his/her reformation is possible without punishment. In such cases, a court shall impose compulsory reformation measures upon the minor.

 Some general provisions of the Criminal Code of Ukraine are aimed at strengthening criminal protection of children who have committed crimes and victimized children.

Thus, sub-paragraph 3 of paragraph 1 of Article 66 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine defines commitment of an offense by a minor as the attenuating circumstance. At the same time, commitment of an offense against a minor (sub-paragraph 6 of paragraph 1 of Article 67 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) or the commitment of an offense through the use of a minor (sub-paragraph 9 of paragraph 1 of Article 67 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) are defined as the aggravating circumstances.

 The section of the Criminal Code of Ukraine devoted to the specific features of criminal liability and punishment of minors contains the great number of provisions on crimes against minors (or some categories of minors) or crimes with aggravated liability if committed against minors.

Article 102 of Criminal Code of Ukraine establishes some limitations on punishment of imprisonment imposed on persons who were under 18 years of age at the time of commitment of an offence. Thus, imprisonment shall be imposed on a minor who committed:

a repeated minor offence - for a term exceeding two years;

a medium grave offence - for a term exceeding four years;

a grave offence - for a term exceeding seven years;

a special grave offence - for a term exceeding ten years.

a special grave offence involving a murder - for a term exceeding fifteen years.

In addition, imprisonment may not be imposed on a minor who committed a minor offence for the first time

Armenia/ Arménie: There is no framework law on juvenile justice, however, and the Chapters of the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure on juvenile suspects, accused and offenders are short and do not incorporate the basic principles set forth in Articles 37 and 40 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Legislation  on the treatment of prisoners contains some provisions that are incompatible with international standards, such as those authorising solitary confinement of juveniles as a punishment for 5 or 10 days.

The Rights of the Child Act contains two articles on juvenile justice. The Code of Criminal Procedure and the Criminal Code adopted in 1998 and 2003, respectively, made important changes on the law concerning juvenile offenders. Some additional improvements were made in amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure adopted in 2001 and 2006, and still others are under consideration at this writing.

The minimum age for the prosecution of juveniles is 14, for more than 20 serious offences. Persons 16 years of age may be prosecuted for any offence recognized by the Criminal Code. Juveniles who have reached these age limits do not have “criminal liability” if they are “not able to understand the nature and significance of one’s actions or to control one’s actions” due to “retarded mental development.”

No law expressly and specifically regulates the treatment of children under the minimum age for prosecution who become involved in criminal activity, that is, any child under 14 involved in any offence recognised by the Criminal Code, and those aged 14 or 15 who participate in unlisted offences. In practice, they are assimilated to children who commit “anti-social behaviour”. One article of the Law on Education refers to the treatment of such children.

Portugal: voir la fin du document

Ireland/ Irlande:         Introduction to Juvenile Justice System in Ireland

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions is responsible for the prosecution of offences in Ireland. The Office is separate and independent in the performance of its function and so is independent from the government, the judiciary, and the Irish police, An Garda Síochána. The Office has published guidelines in a manual entitled, Guidelines for Prosecutors, a copy of which is attached. In these guidelines the Office sets out its policy in relation to juvenile justice. It is noted in Chapter 5 that:

The long term damage which can be done to a child because of an encounter with the criminal law early in his or her life should not be underestimated and prosecution must be regarded as a severe measure with significant implications for the future development of the child concerned. Whilst each situation must be assessed on its merits, frequently there will be a stronger case for dealing with the situation by some means other than prosecution, such as by way of caution. On the other hand, the seriousness of the alleged offence, harm to any victim and the conduct, character and general circumstances of the child concerned may require that prosecution be undertaken.

This statement reflects the general attitude to juvenile justice in Ireland and not just that of the Prosecutor. As a result of this emphasis on prosecution as a last resort, the Office does not have a major role in relation to juvenile justice in Ireland, as it will only be engaged in the most serious cases. The Gardaí have a more prominent role in this area. Where a decision is taken to prosecute, this will generally be dealt with summarily by the Gardaí, acting on behalf of the Office of the DPP, in the Children’s Court.

The Gardaí administer a scheme called the Juvenile Diversion Programme which aims to keep child offenders out of the formal prosecution system. The Programme was only put on a statutory basis in 2001 under the Children Act 2001; however, diversion projects and caution schemes had been in operation for many years before this. Under the terms of the 2001 Act in order to be eligible for the programme a child must accept responsibility for their criminal or anti-social behaviour. The child is then cautioned and, where appropriate, placed under the supervision of a juvenile liaison officer and possibly involved in a conference attended by family members and other concerned persons. The decision as to whether a child should be admitted to the programme is taken by the Director of the National Juvenile Office upon receipt of a report from a juvenile liaison officer, who is a member of An Garda Síochána specially trained to deal with young offenders. The most recent statistics in relation to the operation of the Programme outline that in 2007 there were 21,941 individuals referred to the Programme: 16,753 of these individuals were admitted to the scheme, while 3,208 were deemed unsuitable for inclusion, 1,190 required no action and 790 had their cases pending at the time the statistics were being compiled.

It should be noted at the outset that under Irish law a child is generally defined as a person under the age of 18. The age of criminal responsibility under Irish law is 12, unless the offence is one of murder, manslaughter or certain sexual offences, in which case a child of 10 or 11 may be charged.[4] The provisions in relation to sentencing are discussed below at question 4.

Russian Federation/ Fédération de Russie: Criminal policy in cases against juveniles — in accordance with Article 87, Part 1, of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, juveniles are persons aged 14 (fourteen) to 18 (eighteen) years — is carried out in the Russian Federation pursuant to the requirements set out in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, criminal law and law of criminal procedure, and other statutory instruments regulating legal relations in this sphere. The Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation contains, in addition to general provisions that apply to juvenile offenders, special sections and a separate chapter that regulates criminal proceedings in juvenile cases (Chapter 50 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation). Thus, in criminal cases where offences were perpetrated by juveniles, their legal representatives are mandatorily engaged in the case, which are admitted to participation in the case for the moment of the first questioning of the juvenile in the capacity of the suspected or accused person, as well as summoned to the court session (Article 48 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation). A legal representative may be dismissed from participating in the criminal case if there are grounds to believe that his actions prejudice the interests of the suspected or accused juvenile. In this case, another legal representative of the suspected or accused juvenile is admitted to participation in the criminal case (Article 426 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation). The participation of a defence lawyer is also held mandatory (Article 51 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation). When preliminary investigation and judicial proceedings are carried out in a case involving a crime committed by a juvenile offender, it is mandatory to establish the following data: the age of the juvenile; the conditions of the juvenile’s life and education, the level of his/her mental development and other specific features of his/her personality; the impact exerted upon the juvenile by older persons (Article 421 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation). In the presence of information on a retardation in mental development which is not related to a mental disorder, it is also established whether the juvenile could be fully aware of the actual character and social danger of his/her actions (or omission of actions), or to control them. A criminal case against a juvenile who participated in the perpetration of a offence together with an adult, is severed into a separate case (Article 422 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation). The duration of uninterrupted questioning of a suspected or accused juvenile may not exceed 2 (two) hours, the total duration of questioning being not more than 4 (four) hours per day. It is mandatory that an educationist or psychologist take part in the questioning of a suspected or accused juvenile who has not reached the age of 16 (sixteen), or has reached the said age but suffers from a mental disorder or has retarded mental development (Article 425 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation).  If it is established in the course of preliminary investigation in a criminal case involving an offence of minor or average gravity, that the correction of the accused juvenile can be achieved without administering punishment, then the investigator, on consent of the head of the investigation authority, as well as the inquiry officer, on consent of the prosecutor, has the right to issue a decision on terminating the prosecution and submitting a motion to the court to impose a coercive measure of educational influence provided in Article 90, Part 2, of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Article 427 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation), with the exception of cases where the suspected or accused juvenile, or his/her legal representative object to it. The court considers the application and the case materials in accordance to the procedure set out in Article 108 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, grants or rejects the motion, whereon an appropriate resolution is passed. Also, if in the course of consideration of a case concerning an offence of minor or average gravity the court becomes convinced that the accused juvenile can be corrected without administering criminal sanctions, the court is entitled to free him/her from criminal liability, coercive measures of educational influence being imposed (Article 90 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and Article 431 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation). A juvenile can be freed from punishment (Article 92 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) under the following circumstances:

- release from punishment with the imposition of coercive measures of educational influence;

- placement in a special teaching and educational institution;

- conditional early release.

There exist the following types of coercive measures of educational influence:

- a warning, i.e. an explanation of the inflicted harm and the consequences of the repeated commission of offences;

- the transfer of the juvenile to the supervision of parents or persons acting in loco parentis, or of a specialised state body. In this case the court should make sure that the said persons have a positive influence on the juvenile, assess correctly the actions committed by the juvenile, can ensure the juvenile’s proper behaviour and everyday control over the juvenile. The court must have at its disposal materials characterising the parents or persons acting in loco parentis, monitor their life conditions, possibility for them to provide material support to the juvenile, etc.;

- the imposition of the obligation to undo the inflicted damage, a specific coercive measure of educational influence which cannot be imposed on every juvenile (for instance, if it is connected with certain material costs and physical effort, the application of this measure is only possible to a juvenile that receives a salary or a stipend and has necessary work skills, etc.);

- the establishment of special requirements concerning the behaviour of the juvenile and restriction of his/her leisure — a prohibition may possibly be imposed on visiting certain places or using certain forms of leisure, etc.

Control over the execution by the juvenile of the measure of educational influence imposed on him/her is assigned to a specialised government authority responsible for his/her correction. A juvenile can be freed from punishment with the imposition of coercive measures of educational influence in case of passing a judgment of guilt for an offence of minor or average gravity. In this case, if the court comes to believe that it is necessary to impose coercive measures of educational influence, it must set out in its judgment the grounds for taking such a decision (the juvenile is brought to justice for the first time; he/she is characterised positively, assesses his/her actions critically, a stable and serious upbringing given in the family; a concourse of circumstances that influenced the behaviour of the juvenile, etc.). Placement of a juvenile offender in a special teaching and educational institution is admitted by the law as one of the grounds to free the juvenile from punishment if an offence of minor or average gravity was committed by him/her, as well as in case of the commission of a grave offence. However, if an offence of high societal and social danger was committed, the juvenile cannot be freed from punishment. A peculiarity of conditional early release of a juvenile from serving his/her punishment consists in that shortened terms of serving punishment are provided in the law for deciding the issue of conditional early release (Article 93 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

République Tchèque: In the Czech Republic public prosecution does not have the power to define a general outline of criminal policy in relation to justice for young people. 

Public Prosecutor’s Office is mainly active in criminal proceedings (and in this context in the criminal matters of young people pursuant to Act No 218/2003 Coll. on justice in the matters of young people which came into force on January 1, 2004), and also in the criminal proceedings in the matters of criminal offences committed on children and young people) as the body of public prosecution and the supervisory body in the preparatory criminal proceedings. It is clear from the provisions of section 4 par. 1 letter a) of Act on Public Prosecutor’s Office, according to which the Public Prosecutor’s Office is the body of public prosecution in criminal proceedings and fulfils other tasks arising from the criminal regulations in the extent, under the conditions and in the way determined by law. Act on Public Prosecutor’s Office only contains general regulations. The details of the procedure of prosecutors in criminal proceedings in the above specified matters are stipulated in criminal regulations and in Act No 218/2003 Coll. on justice in the matters of young people. 

Details of procedure of public prosecutors in the criminal proceedings in the matters of young people and in the proceedings in the matters of children under fifteen years of age were stipulated by the General prosecutor in the instructions of general nature (these are internal regulations of the Public Prosecutor’s Office). 

On January 1, 2004, Act No 218/2003 Coll., Act on justice in the matters of young people, came into force (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”). The Act resulted from the efforts to make a new regulation of the way of reaction to criminal activities of young people. Exemption of material and procedural legal regulations concerning young people from general criminal law codes expresses the efforts for a significant change of the general conception of handling young delinquents as it not only emphasises the specific features in the area of punishment for young people. Independent legal regulation is also supported by the fact that in general criminal law regulations it is not possible to include the measures and procedures, mainly of civil law nature, taken against children under fifteen in case an act is committed which otherwise represents a criminal offence, as it does not belong in the general criminal law regulations. Last but not least, it is possible to point out that separate codification of criminal law for young people will strengthen the educational aspect of these principles on which the new codification is based. 

The basic feature of the new law is an effort to stipulate the whole area of handling of all children and adolescents who breach the provisions of criminal law by their behaviour in a single legal norm. It means that every such case will be heard by a specialised juvenile court which will be able to choose such a measure which will be the most suitable with regard to the age of the adolescent, his/her intellectual and ethical maturity and seriousness of the offence committed by him/her. 

The Act stipulates conditions of responsibility of juvenile offenders for their unlawful acts specified in the criminal law, measures taken as punishment for such unlawful acts, procedures, decisions and implementation of justice in the matters of young people.  

The Act applies to two age groups of young people – to children under fifteen (who are not responsible for their acts from the point of view of criminal law) who committed an act which is otherwise a criminal offence, and to juvenile offenders (i.e. persons who had completed the age of fifteen but had not turned eighteen at the time when the wrong act was committed). Juvenile offenders are already responsible for criminal offences. 

The Act stipulates principles of so-called restorative justice which emphasises a balanced and just reaction of society to a wrong act of a young person and which does not waive its joint responsibility for his/her failure and it infers consequences from it not only for the young person but also for solving of problems of other involved persons and groups connected with the act.

The Act is thus outlined in such a way that it stipulates the differences of the special legal regulation of criminal responsibility of juvenile offenders for committed offences and justice in the matters of young people compared to the general regulation contained in the criminal codes and connected legal regulations. In relation to the general criminal law (criminal law for adults), the regulation of justice in the matters of young people is lex specialis.

The bottom age limit when responsibility for criminal acts starts is 15 years of age. Responsibility for criminal acts is constructed as so-called relative responsibility for criminal acts. According to this conception of responsibility for criminal acts, juvenile offenders should be responsible for their criminal acts depending on the achieved degree of their moral and intellectual development, not only by simply turning a certain age. Apart from turning the determined age at the moment when a criminal offence is committed, the responsibility for criminal acts constructed in this way is also conditioned by achievement of a certain degree of moral and intellectual maturity.  

A criminal offence committed by a young person is called a wrong act. A wrong act is therefore a form of delinquency of juvenile offenders corresponding to the criminal offences of adults.  For their assessment, the criminal act applies, with the exceptions stipulated by law. Therefore it is not a new category of criminal offence.

Legal consequences of wrong acts committed by juvenile offenders are measures. These measures are divided into educational measures, protection measures andpunitive measures.

Educational measures can be imposed by the juvenile court in the preparatory proceedings by the prosecutor with consent from the young person already in the progress of these proceedings, latest until it is completed legitimately. The consent from the young person is necessary here due to presumption of innocence – if the education measure is imposed already in the progress of the criminal proceedings against the young person.

The purpose of the protective measure is to influence the mental, moral and social development of a young person in a positive way and to protect the society against wrong acts committed by juvenile offenders.

Punitive measures can only be applied if special ways of proceedings and measures, mainly those restoring the disturbed social relations and contributing to prevention of unlawful acts, would probably not lead to achievement of the purpose of this act.

As regards juvenile offenders who are responsible for criminal acts, it is implementation of public prosecution in criminal area. 

A child who had not turned fifteen at the time when the act which is otherwise a criminal offence was committed is not responsible for criminal acts according to this act but it is possible to apply to him/her measures necessary for his/her reformation, education and protection as these acts also required a suitable reaction. These measures (supervision by a probation officers, inclusion in a therapeutic, psychological or another suitable educational programme from the scope of educational care, protective education, education obligation and education restrictions) will be inflicted by the juvenile court within the civil court proceedings upon a proposal from the public prosecution (here it is implementation of non-criminal competence of the Public Prosecutor’s Office).

In the proceedings conducted against children less than fifteen years of age who were supposed commit an act which would otherwise be a criminal offence, the juvenile court proceeds in accordance with special legal regulations stipulating civil court proceedings, as children under fifteen are not responsible for criminal acts and therefore it is not possible to conduct criminal proceedings against them. It is thus civil law proceedings the basic aim of which is not to prove the guilt of the child but to take such measures to continue its proper education and favourable development.  

The juvenile court will commence the proceedings either upon a proposal from the public prosecution or possibly even without this proposal. The Public Prosecutor’s Office is obliged to make the proposal immediately after it finds out that criminal prosecution is inadmissible as it is a person who is not responsible for criminal offence due to his/her age.    

Cyprus/Chypre: - In Cyprus, the Attorney General’s Office is fully responsible for the prosecution policy in the Republic. See Q.7. There have been a number of circulars issued by the Attorney General and directed to public prosecutors regarding the dealing of prosecutions which involve juveniles and there is a particular sensitivity for these cases at the Law Office.

- The current situation in Cyprus Law regarding the age of criminal responsibility (after the enactment of  Law 18(I)/2006) is that children under the age of 14 are not criminally responsible at all and young persons up to the age of 16 are criminally responsible, but dealt with according to the Juvenile Offenders Law.

- According to article 12 of the Juvenile Offenders Law, the choices that are available to the Court are the following: a) dismissing of the charge; b) imposing probation; c) committing the offender to the care of a relative or other fit person; d) sending the offender to a reform school; and e) ordering the offender to pay a fine or to restore the damages to which he or she was liable. Only as a last resort, and after having been persuaded that there is no other alternative, the Court may also sentence the offender to imprisonment.[5]

France: En France l’action publique est fondée sur la loi et sur des directives générales émanant du Ministère de la justice. Il en est ainsi en matière de justice des mineurs, que ce soit en matière pénale ou en matière de protection des mineurs en danger. C’est ainsi par exemple que ces circulaires ont été adressées aux procureurs sur les violences dans les enceintes scolaires, sur les incendies de véhicules dans les quartiers des villes, sur els suicides en détention etc..  Si on ne peut pas dire qu’il y ait une dominante répressive, les nouveaux textes à appliquer, par exemple pour la répression des mineurs récidivistes , sont plus sévère . Pour autant il est toujours recommandé en matière de mineurs, en particulier de mineurs primo délinquants et plus jeunes, de privilégier une réponse pénale systématique mais  plus tournée vers l’éducatif que sur el répressif .Par exemple on condamnera le mineur à réparer, à faire un stage de citoyenneté ou de sensibilisation aux dommages de la drogue etc. . Il n’y a pas en France d’âge limite inférieur pour prononcer une sanction pénale mais en dessous de treize ans, la sanction ne peut pas être la privation de liberté .le juge doit évaluer si le jeune a agi avec assez de maturité pour qu’on puisse considérer qu’il était responsable, ayant eu le discernement de ses actes .   

Georgie/Georgia : In case of awarding or releasing from criminal liability, according to the current legislation the juvenile shall be the one who had attained twelve before the perpetration of the crime but had not reached eighteen[6]; though, legislative changes raising minimum age of criminal responsibility up to fourteen years has been introduced to the parliament of Georgia for further consideration.

As for the sanction applied against juveniles article 88 Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia defines the following:

·         Imprisonment is awarded against a juvenile from twelve to fourteen years only for committing a grave or especially grave crime. The term of imprisonment awarded against a juvenile from twelve to fourteen years shall be bisected. However, the final sentence shall not exceed seven years. It should be noted that no juvenile under 14 has ever been imprisoned in Georgia. According to the transitive provisions of Criminal Code of Georgia, a juvenile under fourteen if imprisoned should be put into the specialized penitentiary institution for juvenile detainees aged from twelve to fourteen; This kind of institution does not exist in Georgia and as such the sanction has never been applied in practice. In addition, the legislative amendments regarding the criminal responsibility are pending before the parliament as noted above.

·         Imprisonment awarded against a juvenile from fourteen to sixteen years shall be reduced by one third, and the final sentence shall not exceed ten years.

·         Imprisonment awarded against a juvenile from sixteen to eighteen years shall be reduced by one fourth, and the final sentence shall not exceed fifteen years.

Thus the legislator has approached the criminal responsibility of the juvenile with particular caution. Apart from those provisions, a juvenile who has committed a less serious crime may be released from criminal liability if he has reconciled with the victim (article 891 CCG). The law explicitly provides that first-offending juvenile may be released from criminal liability if the court holds that it is advisable to apply a coercive measure of educative effect (article 90 CCG).

(For additional information regarding procedural guarantees for juveniles see question 5).

Although, the juvenile justice is primarily covered in national legislation of Georgia as in any other respective countries, the Government of Georgia has taken position that the legislative basis is not enough to fully cover reforms required in the sphere. Therefore, the approach taken by the Government has been to create a policy document that would guide all relevant agencies, including the prosecution in juvenile justice system. This was particularly important for Georgian reality, as it has only experienced soviet type of juvenile justice. Therefore, conceptually new approach has been developed known as Juvenile Justice Strategy (JJ Strategy). It is part of Criminal Justice Reform Strategy adopted in 2009. JJ Strategy has been drafted in close cooperation with UNICEF and thus encompasses relevant international standards. The strategy recognizes prevention as a cornerstone of juvenile justice system and defines that any intervention dealing with children in conflict with law should be aimed at reducing re-offending. Detention should be used for the shortest possible time in cases of serious crime. The strategy emphasizes on the need of re-integration of juveniles and children in conflict with law in the society. It also notes that due consideration should be given to the fair trial guarantees of the juveniles as well as their treatment in the penitentiary establishments. (The Juvenile Justice Strategy and Action Plan is attached).

JJ Strategy is a policy document for the whole Government and thus for any public prosecutor as well. In addition, JJ Action Plan defines specific objectives and activities, including ones in relation to prosecutors.

Lettonie/Latvia: Prosecutors are not directly involved into the development of general juveniles’ law justice. At the same time Prosecutors are involved into development of any draft legal acts in relation with protection of rights of the State and persons, including creation of such law and improvement of existing provisions related with protection and safeguarding of the rights of juveniles. According to the provisions provided for by the Section 11 of the Criminal Law with the criminal liability may be charged a person who till the day when the criminal offence was committed has reached the age of 14 years and according to the Part 1, Section 65 of the Criminal Law as of the same age the basic sentence - deprivation of liberty - may be imposed.

Moldova: In accordance with the Law nr.294 from December 25, 2008on Prosecutor’s Office, Prosecutor is an autonomous institution within the judicial authority, which in the limits of its powers and jurisdiction, protect the general interests of society, the legal order, rights and freedoms of citizens, lead and exercising prosecution, representing the prosecution in the courts, under the law.

To achieve uniform implementation of the criminal policy of the state prosecutors working to prevent and combat crime, studying the causes that generate or promote crime, shall develop and submit proposals to eliminate them and to improve legislation, including juvenile justice.

The Prosecutor’s service has the following competences:

a) in the name of the society and in public interest, ensures the enforcement of the law, protects the legal order and the citizens’ rights and freedoms, when the violation thereof calls for a penal sanction;

b) conducts and carries out the criminal investigation;

c) represents the accusation in the courts of law;

d) participates, under the law, in court trials on civil and on cases of administrative offence, where court proceedings have been instituted on its initiative;

e) ensures the legal assistance and the international cooperation in its sphere of activity;

f) implements the national penal policy;

g) ensures the efficient protection of witnesses and victims of crimes;

h) initiates civil actions, in cases set forth in the law;

i) controls the observance of laws in the places of preliminary and remand detention;

j) exercises control over the execution of judicial decisions on criminal cases.

By the Law nr.184-XVI for amending and supplementing certain acts, adopted on 29.06.2006, entered into force on 11.08.2006 amendments have been provided for jurisdiction in cases concerning minors, so that the exercise of criminal prosecution if they committed crimes was give to the prosecutor's jurisdiction.

Criminal Code, adopted by Law nr.985 of 18.04.2002, establishes the general principles of criminal liability and criminal sanctions of minors.

According to Article 21 of the Criminal Code – are criminal liable the responsible individuals who at the time when committed the offense achieved the 16 years old. Individuals who are aged between 14 and 16 years are subject to criminal liability only for crimes specified in art.21 part (2) Criminal Code.

Criminal-proceeding law provides that juvenile detention and arrest are applied for a period not exceeding 24 hours only as exceptional measure and only in cases prescribed by law, when committed serious crimes with the application of violence, especially serious or exceptionally serious. When decide on the matter of application of arrest on the minor, in each case is discussed the binding possibility to send a minor under supervision (art.184 of the Criminal Procedure Code). Under the provisions of art.186 Criminal Code, keeping the minor in custody at the prosecution stage will not exceed 30 days and this period may be extended to 4 months only.

Criminal Procedure Code, adopted by Law nr.122 of 14.03.2003, in a special Chapter “Proceeding involving juvenile offenders” of Title III establishes particular criminal proceedings in cases concerning minors, including the procedure Juvenile’s exemption from criminal sanction with the application of educational measures by the court and other international and national regulations.

Monaco: Les lignes directrices élaborées en concertation avec la Direction des Services Judiciaires visent essentiellement à concilier la répression des infractions commises par les mineurs et le volet éducatif afin d’aider les mineurs délinquants à trouver ou retrouver une place dans la société au travers notamment de mesures d’assistance éducative sous le contrôle du Juge tutélaire. Des dispositions spécifiques relatives à l’admonestation effectuée par les magistrats du Parquet Général permettent une gradation des sanctions.

L’âge de la majorité pénale n’est pas fixé par les textes, toutefois, les mineurs de moins de 13 ans ne peuvent être soumis qu’à des mesures à visée éducative.

Allemagne/Germany : Fore far more than one hundred years, Germany has an explicit policy on juvenile delinquency. Since 1908, the Juvenile Court Act (YCA) focuses on the idea of education and rehabilitation of young offenders rather than that of their punishment and retaliation.  These principles have been enriched repeatedly by many challenges, such as the goal to limit the time of deprivation of liberty and to implement diversion measures. The German YCA, especially the one 1923, has inspired the legislation of many countries. The Act finds application to offenders who are between fourteen and eighteen years of age at the time of their offence. The young offenders are to be prosecuted only if they are mature enough to realize their wrong doing and are capable to act appropriate. The Act also applies to offenders between the age of eighteen and twenty-one, if their personal development is like a young offender or the offence is typically youth –like. According to the YCA, the young offenders are prosecuted for the same types of offences like the adults but with different consequences. Imprisonment is the last measure and can only be imposed by the judge; Prison time is kept between six months and ten years.

Montenegro: - Juveniles are persons not older than 18 years. Criminal responsibility of juveniles we divide in three groups :

·         Persons younger than 14 years are not criminal responsible

·         Persons between 14 and 18 years are criminal responsible and toward them it is possible to pronounce diversion order or corrective measures

·         Persons between 16 and 18 years are also criminal responsible and toward them it is possible to pronounce a prison sentence

The Criminal Procedure Code of Montenegro prescribes procedural provisions for juveniles that are applicable on persons who committed criminal offence as a juvenile, and at the time of criminal procedure or at the time of trial, they have not reached the age of twenty-one. 

For all criminal offences a juvenile proceedings shall be instituted only upon a request of the State Prosecutor.

Juvenile penalty  policy have more educative character. The Criminal Code of Montenegro provide for diversion orders with a purpose to avoid instituting criminal proceedings against a juvenile or to discontinue the proceedings, i.e. to influence the proper development of the juvenile and strengthening of his/her personal responsibility by the administration of diversion order so that s/he does not commit criminal offence in future. A diversion order may be imposed on a juvenile criminal offender for a criminal offence punishable by a fine or imprisonment for a term of up to five years. Diversion order may be imposed on a juvenile by the Court at its own discretion or on the notion of the competent State Prosecutor.

When selecting diversion order, competent State Prosecutor and Court , in accordance with their powers, shall take into account fully interest of the juvenile and of the victim, taking care not to interfere within schooling and employment of the juvenile.

Type of diversion orders:

1)    settlement with the victim, so as to remove the harmful consequences of the offence, wholly or partially, by reparation, apology, work or in some other manner,

2)    regular attendance of school or going regularly to work,

3)    involvement, without a fee, in the work of humanitarian organizations or social, local or environmental activities,

4)    undergoing appropriate examinations and curing the addiction caused by consumption of alcoholic drinks or narcotic drugs,

involvement in individual or group treatment at an appropriate health institution or 

counseling centre.

 In the new Law on Juvenile Justice it is prescribed notwithstanding existing diversion orders two new ones: involvement in sport activities and payment of a certain amount of money in favour of humanitarian organization, fund or public institution in a case of juvenile by its own efforts generates income or has possessions. Within this Law it is introduced possibility that diversion order can be applied  upon request of the State Prosecutor. According to this new Law diversion orders cab be imposed for a criminal offence punishable by a fine or imprisonment for a term of up to ten years.

Republic of Macedonia/République de Macédoine: Competent public prosecutor may, in the application for a crime committed by a juvenile, which provided a fine or imprisonment up to three years:

- To guide the proceedings before the court, although there is evidence that he did offense, considers that it would not be necessary to run a procedure in view of the nature of the offense and the circumstances under which it is done, the former life of the minor and his personal properties, as well as execution of the sentence or the educational measure is underway;

- Conditionally to delay initiation of  proceedings before the court during  six months provided that within this period he will not do another crime and to compensate for damage or otherwise to remedy the harmful consequences caused by executing the offense;

- To guide the process if based on a report from the Center finds that the agreement was reached between the juvenile and his family and the injured party to recover the benefits, reimbursement of damage or  repair the harmful effects of the offense or

- To propose to the court to determine against juvenile a general measure-useful work to 30 hours.

For the action of the juvenile specified by law as a crime or offense, authorities and services by rule, do not begin court proceedings to avoid adverse impact on the juvenile, unless the personal properties of the juvenile and the circumstances under which the action is done does not suggest the necessity of conducting the proceedings, which means that there are educational purposes. Toward juvenile who at the time of execution of the action that by the law is defined as a crime or offense, not turned 14 years old - a child at risk may not be applicable sanction provided by Law on juvenile justice, while the minor who is not turned 16 years cannot be imposed juvenile prison.

Hongrie: 1/a In the Republic of Hungary prosecution service is part of justice – including juvenile criminal justice – with an exceptional role in its system. Starting from the beginning of the criminal case up to the termination of penal law it has got an indispensable part; without public prosecution there is no adequate crime prevention, effective prosecution nor feasible criminal policy.

The activity of the child- and youth protection prosecutor is a special field connected to children and juveniles, a group of persons protected through separately handled guarantees in the statutory instruments. Prosecutors in this field co-operate in the prosecution of crimes committed by a juvenile perpetrator, the observance of the specific procedural regulations and take the necessary child protection measures.

Apart from the prosecution of the committed crimes, one of their main tasks is to analyse the crimes committed by juvenile perpetrators with the aim of their prevention. Juvenile prosecutors act pursuant to statutes, other legal regulations, relevant decrees and guidelines of the Prosecutor General.

The Prosecutor General has issued a decree especially for juvenile prosecutors in which he lists the needs to be observed throughout their work. According to this the juvenile prosecutor must:

1/b The juvenile criminal justice of the Hungarian legal system grants ab ovo impunity to children. According to the Hungarian Criminal Code grounds for the preclusion of punishability are provided if the perpetrators have not attained their fourteenth birthday at the time of the committal. 

In the opinion of the legislator the physical and intellectual development of a child – mainly due to the fact, that this is the age when children leave primary school – reaches a level which enables them to account for their actions. The lack of capacity for guilt is an indisputable presumption under the age of fourteen.

The factual behaviour performed by a minor – due to lack of the subject – is not regarded as a crime; however, this fact does not exclude the possibility of basic child care or measures taken by the authority.

The term minor is used to refer to a person who is above the age of fourteen but under the age of eighteen at the time of the committal. The main aim of punishment or any measures against a juvenile is to help the juvenile improve in the proper direction and become a useful member of the society. The legal provision - according to which a sentence can be imposed on a juvenile if injunction against a juvenile is not expediential, whereas measures for incarceration or punishment can only be imposed if the goal of the injunction or punishment cannot be achieved otherwise - becomes regularly operative in practice:

Liechtenstein: The minimum age for criminal responsibility is fourteen.

No specific guidelines are provided for Juveniles, but a special procedure is provided for proceedings and criminal trials against juvenile defendants. The legal basis is the so called Juvenile Court Act. This Act focuses on the idea of education and rehabilitation of young offenders rather than that of their punishment and retaliation. One of the goals is to limit the time of deprivation of liberty and to implement alternative (diversion) measures. The Act is applied to offenders who are between fourteen and eighteen years of age at the time of their offence. The young offenders are to be prosecuted only if they are mature enough to realize their wrong doing and are capable to act appropriate.

Hence the Act is partly different from the procedure concerning adult defendants:

- particular attention is paid to the personality of the young defendant;

- one of the aims is also to re-educate him/her;

- the social service plays a relevant role;

- the provisional arrest is a sort of ultima ratio;

- preventive custody is differently regulated and specific rules are provided for

  precautiory measures;

- the young offenders are prosecuted for the same types of offences like the adults but with different consequences. Imprisonment is the last measure and can only be imposed by the judge; Prison time is kept between six months and fifteen years.

If the conditions for detaining on remand are fulfilled, but the purpose of the detention can be attained through less interfering measure, the court renders, if the accused consents hereto, such a decision in the place of detention. E.g. the court can decide that the accused shall reside in a suitable home or institution. Furthermore, when the accused is 14-18 years old the Act establishes maximum detaining periods (depending on the seriousness of the crime), that are significantly lower than those that apply to adult offender.

If the Police detain a juvenile, the social services and the parents have to be notified. Also, a representative from the social services may be present during a police interrogation.

In cases of violent crime or other kinds of serious crime, the social services have to draw up a plan on how to give the juvenile the support necessary and prevent the juvenile from committing crimes in the future.

Serbie: The prevailing character of the general policy on juvenile justice is more educative than repressive. The minimum age for criminal responsibility is over the 14 years of age. The minimum age under which it is not permissible to imprison the child is the 16 years of age.

Iceland: According to Article 14 of the General Penal Code nr. 19, February 12, 1940 a person shall not be punished on account of an act committed before he or she attained the age of 15 years.

The Director of Public Prosecutions has issued rules nr. 9/2009 (on case procedures against children under the age of 15) stating the following in Article 1:  According to Article 14 of of the General Penal Codae no. 19/1940, a child is deemed as being criminally chargeable upon the end of his/her 15th birthday. Children who have not reached this age are not liable and cannot be penalized for their offences. Additionally, they are not defined as suspects in the interpretation of Act no. 88/2008 on Criminal Procedure.

Notwithstanding the aforementioned, the police are obligated to investigate the offences by non-criminally chargeable children with respect, among other things, to identifying the extent of the offence, investigating possible involvement of other individuals in an offence, facilitating the discovery of and/or returning items to which the offence pertains, seeking to facilitate the welfare of children and adolescents.

According to Article 20 of the Child Protection Act no. 80/2002, the police are obligated to collaborate with the child protection committees and to provide assistance in resolving cases.

Albania/Albanie: According to the Constitution of Republic of Albania and the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) the Prosecution Office is the only institution in the country entitled to exercise the criminal action. In such capacity it applies the general policy on criminal matters, the juvenile justice included.

The Constitution of Republic of Albania, article 54, deals in general with the juveniles affirming the duty of the state to guaranty a special protection to them. Such general policy is expressed even through CPC.

The age

In article of CPC the minimum age of criminal responsibility is 14 years old and the minimum age to apply life imprisonment is 18 years old.

Warrant of arrest

The article CPC stresses out that in issuing warrants of arrest for the minor offenders (14 to 18 years old) the Courts have to take into account the needs of the minor to attend the educative processes ( school, etc)

Imprisonment sentences

According to article  of CPC the minor defendants can not be sentenced more than the half of the maximum penalty provided by Criminal Code for the offence committed by him/ her.

Alternatives of imprisonment penalties

Article  of CPC underlines that penalties different from imprisonments are to be applied for minor defendants when crimes committed or their social risk are not of a high importance.

2.    Le système de justice pénale de votre pays prévoit-il des procureurs spécialisés pour les mineurs, chargés d’appliquer des lois et procédures spécifiques? Les procureurs forment-ils, avec les juges spécialisés pour les mineurs, une entité spécialisée au sein de la juridiction, au sein de laquelle, par exemple une politique générale en matière de justice des mineurs serait définie ou réfléchie ? Veuillez développer.

Does your country’s criminal justice system provide for specialised public prosecutors for juveniles, entrusted with the implementation of specific laws and procedures? Do public prosecutors form, together with specialised judges for juveniles, a specialised entity within the court where, for instance, a general policy for juvenile justice is defined or discussed? Please give details.

Belgium/ BelgiqueLes fonctions du ministère public près le tribunal de la jeunesse sont exercées par un ou plusieurs magistrats du parquet désignés par le procureur du Roi.

Ces magistrats exercent également les fonctions du ministère public près le tribunal civil chaque fois que celui-ci est appelé à statuer sur les mesures provisoires relatives à la personne, aux aliments et aux biens d'enfants mineurs non émancipés dont les père et mère sont en instance de divorce ou de séparation de corps (art. 8 loi du 8 avril 1965).

Croatia/ Croatie: In Municipal State Attorney’s Offices within County State Attorney’s Offices and in County State Attorney’s Offices, there are Sections for Juvenile Delinquency within Criminal Departments. State Attorneys for juveniles work within those sections and present their cases before Municipal courts within County Courts and County Courts – sections for juveniles. State Attorneys for juveniles must have expressed tendency/inclination toward upbringing, needs and benefits of the youth. They also have to possess basic knowledge of criminology, social pedagogy and social care for juveniles. Sate Attorneys for juveniles are appointed to the period of five (5) years from State Attorneys or Deputy State Attorneys in State Attorney’s Offices by the State Attorney General of the Republic of Croatia. After 5 years State Attorney may be re-appointed. In annual work schedule of the Office of the State Attorney General of the Republic of Croatia a Deputy State Attorney is determined to conduct proceedings before Juvenile Council of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia. State Attorney Office has expert associates – social pedagogue – defectologist and social workers who collect data for the  state attorney so as to reach decision on purpose of commencing proceedings against a juvenile, and justification of proposing discontinuance of preparatory proceedings against a juvenile.

State Attorneys for juveniles solve criminal cases of juvenile delinquency, protection of children and juveniles and cases where perpetrators of criminal offences are younger adults.

Denmark/ Danemark: No

Spain/ Espagne: Spanish criminal justice system provides for specialised public prosecutors and for specialised judges for juveniles.

Public prosecutors and judges for juveniles form a specialised entity within the court. They have specific training in Juvenile Law. The principle of specialization in the Juvenile Justice system is stressed by Law. The aim is to reach a Justice for Juveniles different from the ordinary criminal system, oriented towards the best interest of the juvenile.

Estonia/ Estonie: Yes, in the Republic of Estonia, crimes against minors and crimes committed by minors are dealt with by specialised prosecutors.

Do public prosecutors form, together with specialised judges for juveniles, a specialised entity within the court where, for instance, a general policy for juvenile justice is defined or discussed? Please give details.

No separate entity has been formed together with judges, but judges and prosecutors participate in joint trainings and meetings, in which they discuss problems relating to work.

                              Finland/Finlande: The Finnish prosecution service does not employ prosecutors specialising exclusively in offences suspected to have been committed by juveniles. In practice, however, such cases concerning young people are often assigned to certain prosecutors, who thereby develop firm familiarity with the special characteristics of these cases. The Finnish prosecution service employs special public prosecutors with particular expertise in criminal cases involving juvenile victims.

While there are no specialised juvenile courts or special divisions handling cases involving young offenders in the Finnish court system, such cases tend to be assigned to certain judges in some courts.

Greece/ Grèce: The Minors Public Prosecutor’s seat is always in the building of the local 1st Instance Public Prosecutor’s Office, so that immediate conveyance of the apprehended minor offenders before him is made possible. He exercises penal prosecution against minor offenders and either remits them directly to the competent Minors Court or orders holding main investigation by the competent Minors Investigator. In Athens, there are two (2) special Minors Investigators (article 33 par.3 Code of Penal Procedure and article 26 Courts Organisation Code), who hold investigation in cases for which adults are punished at the grade of felony. Minors Investigators as well as Minors Judges are selected on the basis of their special studies or knowledge (article 7 Code of Penal Procedure and article 26 Courts Organisation Code) and their previous occupation with issues concerning minors (i.e. judges for family law disputes). During their two-year tenure of office –which may be extended for another two years- they have the opportunity to further training by attending special seminars and congresses organised by scientific agents, international organisations, universities and the National Judges and Public Prosecutors School.

            All the above mentioned is also applied to the specially appointed Minors Public Prosecutors.

            In Athens, 1st Instance Minors’ Courts, that is Minors’ Judge, Minors’ Court Secretariat and Minors’ Court trial hall are established in a different place from all the rest 1st instance penal courts, so that mingling of minors with the rest accused adults is avoided and a better environment for them is obtained. In particular, they are established in a separate part of the Athens Court of Appeal along with the offices of the Minors’ Supervisors Service of Athens, the Supervisors of which carry out the investigation concerning moral and mental situation, previous life, family conditions and in general the environment of every accused minor and draw up his/her individual file card, which they present to the Minors’ Judge and during the trial, in which they are present (article 239 par.2 passage 2, 3 Code of Penal Procedure and article 8 par.1 Presidential Decree 49/79).

            The trials of the accused minors are always held in camera, that is without publicity, where only the persons having the custody of the accused minors (parents, guardians, etc.) are permitted to be present, beyond Judges and Minors’ Public Prosecutors, litigant parties, their Counsels and the Minors’ Supervisors.

            Article 113 of Code of Penal Procedure provides for the Minors’ Courts as having substantive jurisdiction to judge criminal actions committed by minors from thirteen to eighteen years old. These courts are divided into One-Judge and Three-Judges 1st Instance Courts and to 2nd Instance Courts, called Courts of Appeal. The One-Judge Minors’ Court judges: a. the actions committed by minors except from those judged by the Three-Judges Minors’ Court, b. the minor offenses committed by minors in the 1st Instance Court seat and c. the appeals against resolution of the Minors’ Magistrate Court. Also, the One-Judge Minors’ Court imposes the penitentiary or remedial measures determined by Penal Code for minors who have not completed the 13th year of age. The Three-Judges Minors’ Court judges criminal acts committed by minors, for which the penalty of confinement in a special juvenile detention establishment, which must be imposed according to the Penal Code, is at least five years. The Minors’ Court of Appeal judges the appeals against the resolutions of One-Judge and Three-Judges Courts that operate in Misdemeanours’ Courts. The substantive jurisdiction is determined by the characterisation of the action by Penal Code as felony, misdemeanour or minor offense, based on the real circumstances contained in the indictment bill or the Public Prosecutor’s summons.

         In Greek penal law, despite the general tripartite division of crimes into minor offenses, misdemeanours and felonies on the basis of the penalty that might be imposed by law, felonies, when committed by minors, have always the character of misdemeanour, as explicitly determined in article 18 par.2 of Penal Code, since the confinement in a special juvenile detention establishment is the heaviest penalty which might be imposed. The most important favourable consequence of characterising felonies committed by minors as misdemeanours, is that those are time-barred as misdemeanours, that is at any case after five years, instead of twenty or fifteen years, as provided for adults.

            According to article 130 par.1 of Code of Penal Procedure, in case a minor participates in a crime along with adults, penal prosecution of the minor is disjoined and the minor is judged by the Minors’ Judge. In case of misdemeanours, if the Public Prosecutor -in case of induction through direct summons and by virtue of a well-reasoned decision of his which mentions the concrete reasons which concern the interest of justice- or if the judicial board deems that disjoining is not indicated for reasons concerning the interest of justice, the case is judged by the court competent for the accomplice who is punishable with the heaviest penalty, in which court the special minors’ judge also participates at all instances, if possible. According to the disposition of article 130 par.3 Code of Penal Procedure as modified by article 7 par.2 Law 3090/2002 the joint trial of the minor along with his adult collaborators and his non referral to the minors’ court is always forbidden, if he/she has not completed the fifteenth year of age. As it concerns the infringements of Drugs Laws Code, in case a minor participates in criminal actions infringing this law, committed by adults or in case of connection, the case is always disjoined as per the minor, independently of his/her age (article 18 Law 1729/97 and Ath.Kontaxi, Code of Penal Procedure, 4th ed.2006, 1st volume, article 130, p.1011). Currently, in practice, it is extremely rare to judge minors together with their adult collaborators.

            Moreover, article 45A Code of Penal Procedure provides for the power of the Public Prosecutor to refrain from exercising penal prosecution against a minor who has committed a misdemeanour or a minor offense, if by the investigation of the circumstances in which the action was carried out and of the whole personality of the minor, he/she deems that its exercise is not necessary in order to restrain the minor from committing new criminal actions. In that case, penitentiary measures may be imposed to the minor or the payment of a pecuniary amount up to 1,000 euros to a non-profit or a public benefit legal entity, within a time limit set for his/her compliance.

            After modification of article 489 par.1 d Code of Penal Procedure, by article 4 par.4 of Law 3189/2003, the minor condemned by One-Judge or Three-Judges Minors’ Court to confinement in a special juvenile detention establishment, has always the possibility to file an appeal against the above condemnatory resolution, which is appellable, independently of the penalty’s magnitude, that is the duration of the confinement imposed. On the contrary, the resolutions of the Minors’ Courts are not attacked by legal recourses if they impose penitentiary or remedial measures provided for in articles 122 and 123 of Penal Code, because these are of an administrative character and do not constitute penalties and the resolutions by virtue of which they are imposed are not condemnatory but releasing (Supreme Court 366/1998).

Italy/ Italie: Yes. The Italian criminal justice system provides for specialized public prosecutors and courts for juveniles, entrusted with the implementation of specific laws and procedures. Specialized professional judges and honorary judges act in 26 specialized criminal courts for juveniles. A specialized public prosecution office exists for each of those courts.

In every Court of Appeal there are specialized sections which have jurisdiction on criminal and civil trials concerning juveniles.

Netherlands/ Pays-Bas: In the Netherlands each court district has specialised public prosecutors for juveniles. Among other qualifications, they must have an affinity with and knowledge of juvenile criminal and procedural law, as well as of legislation in other relevant areas such as child protection.

In combating juvenile crime, prevention and aftercare are at least as important as prosecution and sentencing. To be able to achieve a proper balance, these specialised public prosecutors must be fully familiar with civil law instruments and with the care services. They must also have some knowledge of child development and the expertise that will enable them at a later stage to chair the Court District Youth Platform (AJP). Indeed, the mandate of the specialised public prosecutors for juveniles is broader than the criminal law alone – they are also empowered, for example, to apply to the courts for supervision orders.

Poland/ Pologne: In this regard, have not been provided adequate legal regulations. Prosecutors dealing with juveniles cases applying the general rules of law applicable to all offenders.

Within the courts Polish law does not provide the special units, in which judges and prosecutors cooperate in this field. However, in Polish legal system the family judges are dealing with cases of juveniles. Additionally, the guardians are involved in cases of juveniles. The family judges cooperate in this area with family and guardian centers.

Slovak Republic/ République Slovaque: The Criminal Procedure Code in Sec. 347(1) reads that the investigation and fast-track investigation must be conducted and decisions concerning juvenile offenders may only be made by officers who have sufficient experience with the upbringing of the youth in order to achieve the purpose envisaged by the criminal proceedings. Respect for legal rules applicable to the Prosecution Service and its role in the criminal justice system resulted in the essential need to introduce specialization of prosecutors in juvenile crime and crimes against children, and the need of adequate and systematic specialized training. Under the Decree of the Prosecutor General No. 6/2008, specialisation in juvenile crime and crimes against children was put in place at all levels of the Prosecution Service (including District and Regional Prosecution Offices as well as the General Prosecution Office). Specialization is defined as the main focus of the prosecutor´s practice. All prosecutors involved in the selection procedures had to show professional knowledge and understanding, as well as their experience in the upbringing of the youth. Specialised prosecutors supervise legality of the police investigation procedures before the institution of prosecution and at the pre-trial stage; they also act as prosecution counsels once the indictment was brought, and they negotiate plea-bargaining agreements with respect to the offences committed by juvenile offenders or by persons who at the time of the commission of the offence had not reached the age of 14, or also, with respect to the offences against family and youth and all other cases, in which the victim is below the age of 18. Specialised youth crime prosecutors will report information to the prosecutor acting in the civil proceedings; in the light of such recommendations the court may impose mandatory educational or medical treatment orders based on information contained in the investigation case folder. Specialised youth crime prosecutors are mainly obliged to educate themselves, and regularly attend training courses within the continuous education scheme organized by the Prosecution Service and the Judicial Academy. The list of specialised youth crime prosecutors is kept by the General Prosecution Office of the Slovak Republic, and any changes shall be reported by the Chief Regional Prosecutors not later than within one month after the change took place.

Unfortunately, there are no judges specialised in juvenile crime. Court cases are assigned to trial judges by the Electronic Allocation and Case Management System, which on one hand guarantees impartiality of courts, but on the other hand cases involving juvenile offenders are not tried by specialized judges; they are handled and tried by judges randomly selected by the Electronic Allocation and Case Management System from among all criminal judges trying cases within a particular court.

Romania/ Roumanie: Yes. There are specialized judges and prosecutors for juveniles.

Thus, according to article 39, paragraph (2) and article 40 of the Law No. 304/2004 on the judicial organization, within the courts of first instance specialized sections or panels shall be established for juvenile and family. The specialized panels and sections for juveniles and family, as well as specialized tribunal for juveniles and family shall judge offences committed by or against minors. When there are more accused in the same case, some of them being under age, and others of age, and severance of causes is not possible, the competence shall lie with the juvenile and family specialized tribunal.

The prosecutors specialized in cases with minors are not a part of the specialized panels. In the criminal trial, during the trial stage, the prosecutor has a special statute and role: he is not a party in it and he is not the representative of the state. His role is sui-generis, that of a guarantor of finding the truth and of the observance of the legal provisions, because, on the one hand, he is the titleholder of exerting the criminal action and, on the other hand, he has the obligation to lay down conclusion according to the situation resulting from the evidence produced in the case.

According to article 316 of the Law 29/1968 – the Criminal Procedure Code: “During the judicial investigation and debates, the prosecutor performs an active role, in order to reveal the truth and to ensure the observance of the legal provisions. The prosecutor is free to present the conclusions he deems to be well-grounded, according to the law, taking into account the evidence produced in the case. (…)When the judicial investigation does not confirm the accusation or when one of the causes of cessation of the criminal trial foreseen by article 10 has occurred, the prosecutor lays down, according to case, conclusions of acquittal of the defendant or cessation of the criminal trial. ”

The prosecutors together with the judges specialized in cases with minors do not form an entity within the court where, for example, the general policy for juvenile justice is discussed and defined. The independence of the judges and the role of the prosecutors are mistakenly interpreted, the first one is seen absolute, rigid, and the second is reduced to the role of “party” in the trial, which, of course, does not correspond to the legal status. Anyway, within the judicial activity, there are no mechanisms of cooperation provided between judges and prosecutor, any of such forms are not foreseen by the legal framework and are perceived as an infringement of the judge’s independence.

Slovenia/ Slovénie: In our criminal justice system we have specialized public prosecutors for juveniles. In bigger state prosecutors offices we have special departments dealing with criminal cases against juveniles.

Slovenian Criminal Procedure Act has special chapter dealing with proceedings against juvenile perpetrators.  In county courts, higher courts and in the Supreme Court there are special departments for juvenile crimes and special “juvenile” panels of judges. In district courts there are specialized judges for juvenile crimes.

Slovenian state prosecutors are not members of any such specialized entity within the court, but they have the possibility to influence general policy in this field, especially with the proposals of sanctions applied against juveniles. State prosecutor is the only prosecutor against juveniles in our criminal justice system and is at the same time party of procedure, with the possibility to file an appeal against court decisions. Through use of this legal remedy we try to influence the court decisions following our criteria which were established through the jurisprudence.

Sweden/ Suède: Our criminal justice system and the above mentioned law with specific rules concerning juveniles (1964:167) provides for specialized prosecutors for juveniles. Juveniles between 15 and 18 are normally not prosecuted as there, according to the above mentioned law, is a very wide possibility for the prosecutors to waive the case, articles 16 and 17 in the law. If the prosecutor has waived the case, the prosecutor will have a meeting with the juvenile perpetrator and his or her parents. The social authorities should always be informed if the juvenile has not reached the age of eighteen. A representative from the social authorities should be present at the hearings during the preliminary investigation of this juvenile if possible and if it does not damage the investigation.  

Turkey/ Turquie: According the article 29 of Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395)  has in every  Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office a juvenile bureau to  be established.

An adequate number of Public prosecutors shall be assigned to this bureau by the Chief Public prosecutor, from among those who meet the qualifications provided for in paragraph one of Article 28.”

The referred article 28 which regulates the abilities of the judges to be appointed to the juvenile  courts finds application to the public prosecutors too.

We understand from the text that the public prosecutors functioning in the juvenile bureau of the Chief Public Prosecution Service should have  preferably specialized in juvenile law with training in the fields of child psychology and social services.

According article 30 of the Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395) the duties of the Juvenile Bureau are as follows:

“-) to carry out the investigation procedures related to juveniles pushed to crime,

-  to ensure that necessary measures are taken without any delay, in cases which require measures to be taken with regard to juveniles,

-  to work in cooperation with the relevant public institutions and organizations and non-governmental organizations for the purpose of providing the necessary support services to juveniles who need help, education, employment or shelter, from among juveniles who need protection, who are victims of a crime or who are pushed to delinquency; and to notify such and similar cases to the authorized institutions and organizations, and

- to carry out the duties specified in this Law and in other laws.”

But in cases where delay is considered to be risky, these duties may also be carried out by Public prosecutors who are not assigned to juvenile bureaus.

The law foresees in Article 31  that in law enforcement services a juvenile unit has to be established.

·                     The law enforcement duties related to juveniles shall be carried out first of all by the juvenile units of the law enforcement.

·                     When starting a procedure related to juveniles in need of protection or pushed to crime, the juvenile unit of the law enforcement shall notify the situation to the juvenile’s parent or guardian, or to the person who has undertaken the care of the juvenile, to the bar and the Social Services and Child Protection Agency, and if the juvenile is residing at a public institution, then also to the representative of such institution. However, any relatives of the juvenile who are suspected of soliciting the juvenile to commit the crime or of abusing the juvenile shall not be given any information.

·                     The juvenile shall be allowed to be accompanied by a next-of-kin during the period he/she remains at the law enforcement.

·                     The personnel at the juvenile unit of the law enforcement shall be provided with training on topics such as juvenile law, prevention of juvenile delinquency, child development and psychology, social services and so on, by their own agencies.

·                      In case of a notification or establishment that the juvenile is in need of protection or in case of existence of reasons indicating that waiting for an urgent protection decision will be against the interest of the juvenile, the juvenile unit of the law enforcement shall secure the safety of the juvenile by taking the measures required due to the circumstances and shall deliver the juvenile to the Social Services and Child Protection Agency as soon as possible.

According to the article 32 of the Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395)  judges and pblic prosecutors to be assigned at the courts, and the social workers and probation officers appointed at probation and assistance centre directorates shall be provided with training on subjects such as juvenile law, social service, child development and psychology in line with the principles set forth by the Ministry of Justice during candidateship periods.

It shall be ensured that those appointed to serve at courts receive in-service training oriented to provide them with the opportunity to specialize in their fields and self-development.

- As it it has been mentioned above  a juvenile bureau has to  be established at the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Offices. An adequate number of Public prosecutors shall be assigned to this bureau by the Chief Public prosecutor, from among those who meet the qualifications provided for in paragraph one of Article 28.

This bureau works together with the juvenile courts or juvenile heavy penal courts.

Article 25 of Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395)  foresees that, the  juvenile court shall be composed of a single judge. These courts shall be founded in each provincial centre. In addition, they may be established in the districts determined taking into consideration the geographical locations and work load of the regions, by obtaining the positive opinion of the Supreme Council of Judges and Public Prosecutors. Where required due to heavy work load, more than one chambers may be established for juvenile courts. These chambers shall be given numbers.

A remarkable regulation of the Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395) is that the Public prosecutor shall not be present at the hearings administered at juvenile courts.

The main reason for this  regulation is given as that there is insufficient number of prosecutors to conduct this work. But  there are opinions too  which do not consider  positive    the presence of public prosecutors during the trials of minors which evaluate  that their presence requesting for  a penalty  could have a negative effect on the feelings of the minors. 

But a difference of the public prosecutor within the Turkish Criminal law is that he is obliged according the article 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code “to collect and protect all the evidence in favor of or against the suspect and to protect the rights of the suspect, through the judicial security force under his or her authority, for the investigation of the material truth and for the execution of a fair trial.” Therefore to consider  that the public prosecutor as  a public officer which wants only  the disadvantage of the minors would be a jump  towards wrong direction.

This regulation which do not allow the prosecutor being present at juvenile courts could be thought to be changed because it may  lead to circumstances  that an improper prosecution takes place in courts without a prosecutor during the search  of the material truth and by the implementing of the procedural rules. And this could  cause disadvantages for the accused minors.

Of course the  public prosecutors of the locality of the juvenile courts may refer to legal remedies against the decisions of juvenile courts.

Around 80 juvenile courts  are functioning together with  juvenile heavy penal courts all over  the country already.

Juvenile heavy penal courts have one presiding judge and an adequate number of members, and the court sit with one presiding judge and two members.

These courts have to  be established in the localities determined taking into consideration the geographical locations and work load of the regions, by obtaining the positive opinion of the Supreme Council of Judges and Public Prosecutors.

Where required due to heavy work load, more than one chambers may be established for juvenile heavy penal courts. These chambers are given numbers.

Opposite to the juvenile courts, in the hearings in  juvenile heavy penal courts the public prosecutor has to be present.

According Article 26 of the Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395) the  Juvenile courts have to  administer the actions filed with regard to juveniles pushed to delinquency, for crimes falling under the jurisdiction of basic penal courts and penal courts of peace.

Juvenile heavy penal courts have to  administer suits related to crimes committed by juveniles and falling under the jurisdiction of the heavy penal court.

Courts and juvenile judges have the duty to take the necessary measures specified in this law and in other laws.

Public prosecution suits filed with regard to juveniles have to  be administered at the juvenile courts according the Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395). But the  provisions of Article 17 as regards the crimes committed through participation  are  reserved.

Article 17 of the Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395)  foresees that “In case it is considered necessary that the trials be carried out together, general courts may decide, during any stage of the trial, for consolidation of trials, on the condition that such consolidation is found appropriate by the courts. In such an event, the joint cases shall be administered at general courts.“

·                       The judicial territory of juvenile courts have to  be determined with the territorial boundaries of the province or district in which it is established.

·                       The judicial territory of juvenile heavy penal courts shall be the administrative territories of the central province or district where they are located, and of the districts which are judicially connected thereto.

·                       Any decision to determine or change the judicial territories of the juvenile courts and juvenile heavy penalty courts in consideration of geographic location and work load shall be given by the Supreme Council of Judges and Public Prosecutors upon the proposal of the Ministry of Justice.

The judge or the juvenile court may, ex officio or upon the request of the supervision officers, the juvenile’s parent, guardian, caretaker or supervisor, the representative of the institution or person implementing the measure and the Public prosecutor, examine the results of the measure being implemented with regard to the juvenile, and abrogate, extend or change the measure.

England and Wales/ Angleterre et pays de Galle: The Crown Prosecution Service appoints youth specialist prosecutors. Their role is to make the major decisions in all youth cases and to prosecute youths in court. The youth court is presided over by a District Judge or by a panel of magistrates who have received youth training.  The CPS works with colleagues in other youth justice agencies such as the youth courts, police and youth offending teams to implement policies that require interagency cooperation, such as the Persistent Young Offender pledge to halve the time from arrest to sentence that ended in December 2008, and the current Criminal Justice: Simple, Speedy Summary initiative to reduce delay in the youth court. These interagency groups operate on a local basis and although they may discuss national policy, they may devise their own local procedures and protocols.

Scotland/ Ecosse: There are no specialised public prosecutors in Scotland who deal exclusively with juvenile offenders, although many individual prosecutors may build up a certain level of expertise over time.

The development of policy on how juveniles are dealt with in the criminal justice system is achieved through a variety of routes – it may be through government or parliamentary action, for instance via legislation, or for more incremental reforms this may be achieved through policy decisions by criminal justice partners, including the public prosecutors.

In Scotland , if a juvenile is to appear in court as an accused, legislation dictates that the court should sit in a room which is not, in ordinary circumstances, a court room.[7]

Additionally, a pilot scheme was recently run in the Lanarkshire area of Scotland where specialist ‘Youth Courts’ were established for offenders aged 16 and 17 years old.  These were seen as a transitional option between the Children’s Reporter stage and attendance in a full adult court.[8]

Ukraine: Specialization of prosecutors (and judges) taking part in proceedings of crimes committed by minors and/or against minors, is not defined on the legislative level.

However, there is an interdepartmental specialization. Subject to clause 7.1 of the order of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine dd. April 15, 2004 N 6/1 “On organization of operation of the prosecution agencies in the sphere of protection of rights and freedoms of minors”, the public prosecution in criminal cases dealing with juvenile offences shall be vested on the most experienced prosecutors. Usually, they are prosecutors supervising over law observance on protection of rights and freedoms of minors. Public prosecutor took part in all proceedings in criminal cases dealing with offences and dangerous acts committed by juveniles.

Courts have the similar departmental specialization.

The recent Concept of the Juvenile Justice Development in Ukraine supports such specialization.

As a rule, prosecutors undergo advanced training with the National Academy of the Public Prosecution of Ukraine at least every five years.

Armenia/ Arménie: Armenian authorities are aware of the recommendation of the Committee on the Rights of the Child that specialized juvenile courts should be established. The main reason given is the small number of trials of juveniles - 156 cases in 2008, according to the Department of General Investigation. There also is a general reluctance to establish specialised courts. In 2008 trial courts were separated into civil and criminal courts, but this measure was rescinded ten months later and all trial courts again became courts of general jurisdiction. In practice, however, most judges in trial court are specialized and handle only criminal or civil cases.

In the short term, the most practical way of ensuring that juveniles accused of an offence (and children involved in criminal cases as victims or witnesses) are tried by judges having special training in child development, child rights and related matters would seem to be designating one judge in each court to handle such cases. This could be done administratively, with no need for legislative action. The same kind of measure could be taken with regard to prosecutors. In both cases, there appears to be some receptivity to taking this step.

In the longer term, the effectiveness of designated judges and prosecutors in ensuring compliance with relevant principles and standards on the rights of juvenile offenders could be evaluated through the monitoring of trials of juveniles (and eventually other criminal trials involving children). The caseload of courts also could be examined with a view to assessing whether the ‘demand’ for a specialized court is sufficient to warrant the creation of one in the capitol, where more cases involving juveniles arise. The logical time to do this would be after sufficient time has passed to evaluate the results of further efforts to develop diversion and prevention programmes.

In 2004 one judge from each trial court participated in a training course on juvenile justice and alternative sanctions co-sponsored by UNICEF, the OSCE and ABA ROLI. The Judicial School also organized an in-service training course on child rights in 2008, in cooperation with UNICEF. A course on juvenile justice has been added to the curriculum for candidate judges, and twenty judges have graduated since it was added to the curriculum. There is, however, no regulation or policy requiring that each trial court have at least one judge having any special training in child rights or juvenile justice.

Portugal: voir la fin du document

Ireland/ Irlande: No. However, it should be noted that Part 7 of the Children Act 2001 provided for the establishment of a special Children Court for dealing with young offenders. The Court operates under additional procedural rules which take account of the special circumstances of child offenders. Notably, the Court has extensive jurisdiction over cases concerning juveniles. It may deal summarily with a child charged with an indictable offence, unless the charge is one of manslaughter or murder, rape and serious sexual assaults (offences for which the Central Criminal Court has exclusive jurisdiction). The proceedings before the Court are held in camera; only those persons listed in section 94 of the Children Act 2001 may attend. This list includes bona fide representatives of the Press; however, the Press are restricted in what they may report as they are prohibited from identifying the accused.

In addition, as mentioned above, there are members of An Garda Síochána who are specially trained to deal with young offenders, these are Juvenile Liaison Officers.

Russian Federation/ Féderation de Russie: It should be noted that work on the creation of juvenile courts within the system of courts of general jurisdiction is carried out in the Russian Federation. In a number of courts of general jurisdiction certain judges are selected who specialise in criminal cases of juvenile offenders. This can be regarded as a first step to creating juvenile justice.

Within the system of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation, it is provided that the duties of supervision over the enforcement of laws on juvenile and youth matters are assigned to certain prosecutors, or to a special unit.

Czech Republic/ République Tchèque: As it has already been specified above, the area of criminal law for young people was stipulated by a separate Act on justice in the matters of young people in the Czech Republic. 

A special system of justice for young people also requires specialists who are able to ensure its problem free operation in practice. This applies mainly to specialised juvenile court, even if they were established within the scope of the existing system of general courts, and specialised other bodies active in criminal proceedings. Judges, public prosecutors, members of police bodies and officers of Probation and Mediation Service operating in criminal matters must have a special training for handling young people. In the proceedings against young people it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that interrogation, hearing and deciding of their criminal matters is entrusted to persons whose knowledge of the issues connected with education of young people will ensure fulfilment of the educational purpose of the proceedings.

Administrative ensuring of protection of children’s rights in the system of the Public Prosecutor’s Office is ensured by a model organisation order. The model organisation order determines the basic principles of the organisation, internal relations, performance of the prosecution administration and management of the prosecutions as a system of state authorities intended for representation of the state during protection of public interests in the matters entrusted by law to its competence and therefore it also applies to the area of protection of children and young people.

An internal regulation of the Public Prosecutor’s Office determines the specializations of the public prosecutors. Specialization is understood as the main orientation of the activities of the public prosecutor operating in the district, regional, higher or supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office. The public prosecutor settles matters according to its specialization. Specializations are divided into specialisations in the criminal section and specialisations in the non-criminal section.  

In the district, regional and higher Public Prosecutor’s Office, there are criminal specializations for unlawful acts of young persons, acts committed by children under 15 which would otherwise be criminal offences and criminal offences committed on young people. There are also non-criminal specializations for social and legal protection of children and proceedings in the matters of children under 15 and young people not responsible for criminal acts.

Act on justice in the matters of young people stipulates that judges, public prosecutors, members of police bodies and officers of the Probation and Mediation Service acting in the criminal matters of young people must have a special training for handling young people.   

Special education of judges, public prosecutors and officers of Probation and Mediation Service (and also assistants of judges and public prosecutors, legal probationers and senior officers of courts and Public Prosecutor’s Office) operating in the area of justice in the matters of young people is ensured by Ministry of Justice by means of its Judicial Academy. 

It includes mainly mediation of knowledge from the area of criminology, development psychology, children’s psychiatry, special pedagogy and social work and increasing of specialist qualification of prosecutors, including deepening of specialisation determined by an instruction of general nature.

Education is organised in regular, quite short intervals, and the lecturers are not only selected judges, public prosecutors specialized in the particular topic but also policemen, experts, psychiatrists and psychologists specialising in young people, university professors with specialisation in law and pedagogy, officers and assistants of Probation and Mediation Service and other experts specialising in work with young people. The level of the education organised in this way can be assessed as very high.

Cyprus/Chypre: Our justice system does not  provide for specialised public prosecutors for juveniles.

France: Oui , les procureurs et leurs substituts qui connaissent des procédures concernant les mineurs , doivent avoir une habilitation spéciale et les textes qu’ils appliquent résultent d’un texte de valeur législatif souvent remanié, appelé l’ordonnance de 1945  rappelant la primauté de l’éducatif sur le répressif .

Georgie/Georgia: There are no specialized prosecutors dealing merely with juvenile cases in Georgia. The Training Center of the Ministry of Justice organizes training on the juvenile justice related issues for prosecutors on general basis.

Apart from ongoing training, in line with the Juvenile Strategy and Action, the Ministry of Justice in cooperation with the United Nations Fund for Children (UNICEF) is planning specialized training for selected group of 50 prosecutors. These training would allow prosecutors to specialize in juvenile cases as well as practice the discretionary prosecution in the best interest of child (for the information regarding the discretionary prosecution please view below the information).

Lettonie/Latvia: No separate specialization of prosecutors in the realm of juveniles' rights protection exists, nevertheless in praxis the heads (head prosecutors) of the Prosecution Office institutions mostly arranges the work of Prosecutors under their supervision, taking into consideration the specific of respective criminal procedures, inter alia entrusting the Prosecutor's functions in cases where under-age offenders are involved, to one and the same prosecutors. No specific cooperation model with judicial authorities exist for common participation in the development of general policy regarding protection of rights of juveniles, nonetheless according to the Section 40 of the Criminal Procedure Law the Chairperson of District (City) Court in cases provided for by the Law and following statutory procedure gives assignment to supervise whether the human rights are complied with in the criminal procedure. According to the obligations and procedure provided for by the Criminal Procedure Law, investigation judge amid of other issues decides on application of security measure related with deprivation of liberty, as well as examines complaints regarding possible breaches of the human rights in the criminal procedure, including towards juveniles who has got rights to the defence. Hence the Prosecutor cooperates with the Judge in safeguarding of rights of juveniles within the frameworks of the respective criminal procedure and pursuant to the procedure provided for by the Criminal Procedure Law.

Moldova: In the Republic of Moldova there are no judicial bodies (courts, prosecution bodies) with exclusive jurisdiction to examine the crimes committed by minors, which is a future task. Meanwhile, specialization of the judicial bodies has a variety of procedural safeguards based on a strong psychological dimension and provides higher quality of justice. A possible way to improve the situation is specialized employees within existing bodies. By decision No. 39 of 22.11.2004 “on judicial practice in criminal cases concerning minors” the Supreme Court of Justice recommended that criminal cases against minors to be examined by a panel of judges composed of judges with experience, specialized in this area and appointed to by order of the Court Head to adjudicate such a cases.

Given the importance of the issue concerned, on 29.03.2004 General Prosecutor signed the order nr.54/21 “concerning activity of prosecutors in child rights protection and management of criminal prosecution in crimes committed by minors”. By the same order territorial prosecutors have to appoint a prosecutor responsible for application in the territory of legislation concerning minors, empowering them with special competences in this area. In the new conditions regarding measures to implement some legal norms provided by the Law nr.184-XVI of 29.06.06, and given the fact that under art. II of this Law, prosecution in case when crimes committed by minors, was placed under the exclusive competence of the Prosecutor’s office, so, prosecutors exercises prosecution in cases of minors, sustain the accusation in the courts in these cases, have the information on rights and fundamental freedoms of minors and take measures to combat and prevent juvenile delinquency.

Monaco : Au sein du Parquet Général un substitut est plus spécialement chargé des affaires concernant les mineurs tant victimes que délinquants.

Si aucune entité spécialisée comprenant procureurs et juges spécialisés pour les mineurs n’existe, le Juge tutélaire et le Parquet Général et plus spécialement le substitut chargé des mineurs travaillent en collaboration afin de rechercher les solutions les plus adéquates pour chaque mineur.

Allemagne/Germany : In Germany, there are specialised public prosecutors for juvenile offenders and for the protection of juvenile victims. They are organised in special units within the prosecution office, but not in special entities outside the prosecution service and not together with the juvenile court-system or juvenile judges.

Montenegro: - Adoption of a new Law on Juvenile Justice that provides special Prosecutor for juveniles is in progress. Within the State Prosecutor’s Office will be appointed Prosecutors for juveniles.

Republic of Macedonia/République de Macédoine: Yes, our criminal justice system provide for specialized Public Prosecutors for juveniles, entrusted with implementation of specific laws and procedures.

Hongrie: Dealing with juveniles requires special knowledge on the part of the authority, legal provisions of which are settled in ‘On juvenile prosecutors and juvenile courts’ in the Hungarian Criminal Procedure Code.

According to these regulations only juvenile prosecutors, appointed especially to this field of activity can act in criminal procedures against juvenile delinquents. Juvenile prosecutors act on four levels in the prosecution service.

The field of child- and youth protection is administered by the Independent Department of Child and Youth Protection, reporting directly to the Deputy of the Prosecutor General in criminal matters at the Office of the Prosecutor General; at the appellate chief prosecutor’s offices, county chief prosecutor’s offices, local offices, in designated district prosecutor’s offices and at the investigating prosecutor’s offices organisational by units under this name or by prosecutors delegated for this field of prosecution.

The tasks and competences of the juvenile prosecutor are detailed in the special decree of the Prosecutor General referred to in part 1/a.

Similarly, in criminal cases of juveniles juvenile judges are the competent authorities. In Hungary there is no separate juvenile court, but a specifically organised judicial division of the court of record, designated to administer juvenile cases, acting at local courts at the seat of the county court.

With regard to the effectuation of efficiency and the aspects of special educational needs the law provided for a council of special composition with an appointed judge to proceed in the first instance (in the first instance one of the associate judges is a pedagogist). In the first instance the presiding judge, on the second and third degree one of the members of the council is appointed by the National Council of Justice of Hungary. The Supreme Court is an exception to the latter rule. Violation of the above regulation is an absolute reason for annulment, since the court was not legally composed.

Juvenile prosecutors act at courts where the appointed juvenile judges administer cases. They do not form a “common specialized entity” from an organizational point of view, but due to their judicatory tasks they are on a daily cooperative term with each other.

Liechtenstein:In Liechtenstein, there are no specialized public prosecutors for juvenile    offenders and for the protection of juvenile victims. All prosecutors have to the deal with these cases. But there are trainings open for all prosecutors, organized by the prosecution office together with the court an other players in this field; but there is – as mentioned above- a special juvenile court-system and there are juvenile judges.

Serbie: The specialized Public Prosecutors for Juveniles are provided by the system of licensing for juvenile cases. Specialized public prosecutors and judges does form the specialized entity.

Iceland : No, Iceland does not provide for specialised public prosecutors or judges for juveniles.

Albania/Albanie: From September 2007 there exist a specialized Department for juveniles within 6 major District Prosecution Offices (DPO). That Department is entrusted with exercising criminal action against minor offenders but not even with cases where minors are involved as crime victims.

There is no law or procedure entrusted specifically to be applied by that Department, thus the Department applies the same CPC as the other part of the DPO.

No, there is no any specialized entity on juvenile justice within the court.

3.    Si oui comment les procureurs sont-ils formés, sélectionnés et quelle formation continue suivent-ils?

If yes, how are the public prosecutors educated, selected and trained?

Belgium/ Belgique: Les fonctions du ministère public auprès du tribunal de la jeunesse sont exercées par un ou plusieurs magistrats du parquet désignés spécialement par le procureur du Roi pour exercer cette tâche.

Croatia/ Croatie: Education of the State Attorneys for juveniles is conducted through targeted meetings organised by the Office of the State attorney General of the Republic of Croatia. State Attorneys for juveniles participate in those meetings as well as expert associates and discuss problems in working on cases of juvenile delinquency, protection of children and juveniles and younger adults with the aim of standardisation of practice in working on certain criminal offences, application of educational measures and juvenile imprisonment. Furthermore, education is also organised by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Croatia via seminars of the Judicial Academy. Lecturers from the country and from abroad participate in these seminars and among other things discuss and acquaint themselves with the work of State Attorneys for Juveniles and Juvenile courts abroad.

Denmark/ Danemark:

Spain/ Espagne: There is only a Public prosecutors body. Prosecutors who are to deal with juveniles are selected from this unified body. Process of selection is based on specialization. Members of Public prosecution who apply and prove specific knowledge in Juvenile Justice are selected to this task. To prove specific knowledge is necessary to have taken part in special training activities, or to have done specific research on the subject, or to have given lectures on the subject etc. There are also continuous training activities especially designed for these prosecutors.

Estonia/ Estonie: The prosecutors who are specialised in criminal offences relating to minors have obtained regular higher education in law, but they are provided with special trainings in Estonia as well as abroad; for all prosecutors in Estonia who are specialised in minors, joint round table meetings are held on a regular basis where the problems arising from work are discussed and which involve presentations given by various experts (e.g. psychologists, pedagogues, etc.). Prosecutors work in close cooperation with police units specialised in minors.

Finland/ Finlande:

Greece/ Grèce: Voir réponse à la question 2

Italie: The recruitment process is the same for all judges and public prosecutors. When public prosecutors (or judges) apply to be appointed as juvenile prosecutors (or judges), the High Council for the Judiciary evaluates the professional skills –and particularly the specific qualification– of the candidates.

Continuous training is provided for public prosecutors (and judges) also in the field of juvenile justice.

Netherlands/ Pays-Bas: Specialised public prosecutors for juveniles must meet specific requirements and have followed specific courses.

Poland/ Pologne: Currently, it is not foreseen in this field a special course during the professional training to become a prosecutor, or in practice of the prosecutor. Occasionally, such training is provided by the National School for Judges and Prosecutors.

Not in each unit of the prosecution service in cases of juveniles a prosecutor specialized in this field is involved. In larger units of prosecution service, a prosecutor engaged in dealing with civil and administrative matters also deals with cases of juveniles.

Slovak Republic/ République Slovaque: As mentioned above in Point 2/, in 2008 prosecutors specialised in juvenile crime within the Family and Youth Protection Division were appointed at all levels of the Prosecution Service on the basis of their professional qualities and experience. Each specialised prosecutor is obliged to improve his professional knowledge on their own, and at the same time to attend all training courses organized by the Judicial Academy or by the General Prosecution Office, or by Regional Prosecution Offices. Prosecutors are trained by the Judicial Academy in the context of the General Training Scheme of the Judicial Academy, which is also aimed at judges and candidates for judicial appointments. The General Prosecution Office on a regular yearly basis organizes its own seminars focused on topical problems arising in the course of the practice of the prosecutor´s profession, which also involve family and youth protection. For example, on 12th and 13th November 2009 a seminar for prosecutors specialised in juvenile crime and crimes against children was organised, focused on “Procedural Status of Juvenile Offenders in Criminal Proceedings, Legitimacy of Procedures in Juvenile Convictions”. As outlined in the Professional Training and Continuous Education Scheme of Prosecutors for the year of 2010, there has been another training course scheduled for 20th and 21st September 2010.

Romanie/ Roumanie: The National Institute of Magistracy is the main institutionalized structure for the training and specialization of judges and prosecutor.

According to article 103 paragraph (1) of the Law No.304/2004, The National Institute of Magistracy shall be the public institution (…) placed under the co-ordination of the Superior Council of Magistracy, that achieves the initial training of judges and public prosecutors, the continuous professional training of magistrates in office (…).

The selection is achieved at the level of prosecutor’s offices, according to the training and specialization and personal option.

 According to article 95 paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Law No.304/2004: “the head of each prosecutor’s office shall designate prosecutors within sections, services and offices, according to their training, specialization and capabilities.

(3) the head of each prosecutor’s office shall assign files to the prosecutors, taking into account their specialization.”

The training is achieved through the 3 forms of professional training: centralized training, decentralized training and individual training.

Slovenia/ Slovénie: Slovenian state prosecutors have common education as a prosecutor, which is upgraded with special education, provided by programs of specialization in different Slovenian universities. Number of prosecutors has passed this program; the others are experienced prosecutors with quite long practice in this area. Every year there are organized special seminars in the framework of our institution. On other side our prosecutors attend different conferences and seminars organized by Non-governmental organizations, ministries, etc.

Sweden/ Suède: The prosecutors have no specific education but are regularly passing training courses in the field and should be interested in and appropriate for the task. The investigations should always be executed as fast as possible and the law prescribes specific time limits.  

Turkey/ Turquie: As mentioned above the Chief Public Prosecution Services public prosecutors working in the juvenile bureau should be preferably specialized in juvenile law with training in the fields of child psychology and social services

Judges and Public prosecutors to be assigned at the courts, and the social workers and probation officers appointed at probation and assistance centre directorates shall be provided with training on subjects such as juvenile law, social service, child development and psychology in line with the principles set forth by the Ministry of Justice during candidateship periods.

It shall be ensured that those appointed to serve at courts receive in-service training oriented to provide them with the opportunity to specialize in their fields and self-development.

The principles and procedures for pre-service and in-service training are  determined with a regulation.  ( Article 32- Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395))

England and Wales/ Angleterre et pays de Galle: All public prosecutors are appointed following fair and open competition, in accordance with civil service policy. Youth specialist prosecutors are public prosecutors who have at least two years general prosecution experience and have additional training in youth offenders. The training is a three day course that is accredited by both branches of the legal profession; the Law Society and the Bar Council. Youth specialists usually volunteer for this role because they have an interest in children and young people. They usually carry out their youth specialist role in addition to their adult work.

Youth specialist prosecutors receive regular updates on youth justice initiative through the constant revision of the legal guidance on youth offenders, an annual youth justice conference that alerts prosecutors to new and imminent developments in youth justice and twice yearly seminars.

Scotland/ Ecosse: As mentioned before, there are no specialist prosecutors in this area. However thorough guidance is provided to all public prosecutors and general advocacy training is provided, with specific guidance and support in developing the skills necessary to deal with cases involving child accused.

Additionally training is provided to prosecutors on how children should be treated as vulnerable witnesses in the court process, which can be adapted when dealing with children as an accused.

Ukrain/ Ukraine: Voir réponse à la question 2

Armenia/ Arménie: Training on the rights of children has been institutionalized in the Police Academy. Annual in-service training is obligatory for both judges and prosecutors, and issues concerning juvenile justice have been incorporated into such training. Prison staff also have participated in ad hoc training on the rights of children.

Portugal: voir la fin du document

Irland/ Irlande: Not applicable

Russian Federation/ Fédération de Russie : Pursuant to Article 43.4 of the Federal Law “On the prosecution Service of the Russian Federation”, in order to provide high-level professional qualifications of the staff, there functions a system of permanent training and professional development for its officers which includes individual and group training in accordance with special plans, probation in higher-level prosecution bodies, scientific and educational institutions of the prosecution service, training at regional training centres and institutions of advanced training.Professional development is a service duty for the prosecutors.

Czech Republic/ République Tchèque: Voir réponse à la question 2

France: Comme tous les magistrats français, les procureurs et substituts sont recrutés sur concours et formés à l’Ecole nationale de la Magistrature . Il sont astreints à des actions de formation continue obligatoire, soit nationales, soit sur leurs lieu d’affectation  tout au long de leur carrière et les formations suivies peuvent servir de critères de nomination au long de leur carrière .

Georgie/Georgia: For the extensive training mentioned above, the 50 prosecutors will be elected based on their previous experience; priority will be given to those prosecutors who have been working on juvenile cases previously. Extensive training will focus on following issues:

·         General overview of international standards on Juvenile Justice;

·         Role of child development specificities while going through the justice procedures;

·         Psychological areas to be considered while dealing with juvenile cases;

·         Special skills to communicate with juveniles,

·         Assessing of the reliability of the information delivered by the juvenile

·         Special skills on handling juvenile cases in court (including innovations considered by the new Criminal procedural Code – e.g. jury trial and juvenile cases);

·         Special techniques of interviewing children in conflict with the law (including victims, witnesses and offenders);

·         Specific issues related to interrogation and cross-examination,

·         General overview of the issues related to juvenile victims;

·         Motivation and specific requirements of the juveniles;

·         Protection of the best interests of the child in the justice system

Lettonie/Latvia: Prosecutors actively participate in the seminars and conferences organized by the different institutions and organizations, including that ones devoted to protection of the rights of juveniles.   In most cases such seminars and conferences are organized together with the Judges and in the course of such training are discussed actual problems and possible solutions for drafting of legal acts, as well as for improvement of existing praxis in protection of the rights of the State and persons (including juveniles) are looked for.

Moldova: Under Orders mentioned in p.2 in every Prosecutor’s Office have been appointed one of the most qualified prosecutor who have experience at least 5 years of activity in the prosecution for investigation of the cases involving juvenile offenders and coordination of work concerned this.

In view of raising professional skills of prosecutors in protecting children's rights, preventing and combating juvenile delinquency, General Prosecutor's Office jointly with international organizations in this field and National Institute of Justice permanently organized participation of prosecutors and judges in training workshops on juvenile justice.

The methodical recommendations on application of legislation on child rights in the criminal prosecution of juvenile offenders have been sent to the specialized prosecutors.

For collaboration with the NGO sector General Prosecutor's Office cooperates with international organizations and NGOs concerned with human and child rights protection, among which may be referred to the U.S. Embassy in Moldova, OSCE Mission, the Mission of International Organization for Migration, United Nations Children's Fund - UNICEF, the Council of Europe, the International Center o Women Rights Protection and Promotion "La Strada", Center for Prevention of Trafficking in Women, the Program on International Migration (MIGRANT) and International Program on Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC Moldova).

Monaco : Les procureurs en poste à Monaco sont soit des magistrats français détachés, soit des magistrats monégasques ayant tous suivi les enseignements de l’Ecole Nationale de la Magistrature française et bénéficiant des actions de formation continue offertes par cette école, selon leurs vœux et leurs besoins.

Allemagne/Germany : According to the YCA, the Chief Prosecutor of every prosecution office has to appoint specialised prosecutors for juveniles. They should be capable and experienced in the education and bringing-up of children and juveniles. Youth prosecutors are permanently trained in special training programs in all fields of science and society, including social developments and questions of psychology. This year, for instance, there are training courses on the treatment of victims as witnesses, violence within the family, stalking, child abuse, child protection in general, family and custodian ( care) law, protection of children during investigation and proceedings, investigation in the field of drugs and crime, treatment of young  intensive offenders, cooperation with police, court, youth authorities, juvenile delinquency and crime prevention, best practices in the every-day-work of youth-prosecutors, new developments in the youth law field, psychiatry and criminal law, psychology of witnesses).

Montenegro: The Prosecutors are going to be educated and trained with particular regard to their new function as a Prosecutors for juveniles. Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office takes account of a continuous education of Prosecutors, as well as of the Prosecutors involved with juveniles.

Republic of Macedonia/République de Macédoine: They are elected from the ranks of prosecutors and have special educations for the implementation of the Law on juvenile justice. Public Prosecutor at least four to ten days during the year is following specialized training for Juvenile offenses in the country or abroad.

Hongrie: It is the juvenile prosecutor who acts in criminal procedures against juveniles. This is essential for a professional and successful procedure and also for the enforcement in practice of special regulations concerning juveniles.

Apart from legal studies this proficiency and competence has several components. Theory (pedagogy, psychology) and practice in fighting juvenile delinquency and also knowledge of life and qualities indispensable for effective child and youth care are required.

At chief prosecution offices and at local prosecution offices juvenile prosecutors are directly subordinate to and supervised by the deputy chief prosecutor responsible for criminal law or the head of the local prosecutor’s office.

Basic skills necessary for this specialized work can be acquired during the trainee time required for becoming a prosecutor (as assistant public prosecutors and prosecutorial law secretaries). During this time assistant public prosecutors have the possibility to work with experienced juvenile prosecutors of great expertise which enables them gain the necessary knowledge essential for this field of prosecution. Future prosecutors take part in trainings at the chief prosecutors’ offices and also in trainings organised for preparation for the special legal examination organised by the Prosecutors’ Training Centre of the Republic of Hungary. In order to make sure, that only professionally qualified prosecutors get appointed to juvenile prosecutors, it is necessary to obtain the assent of the head of the Independent Department of Child and Youth Protection prior to being designated a juvenile prosecutor. After their nomination for juvenile prosecutors, prosecutors are obliged to take part in further trainings organised by the Office of the Prosecutor General.

Liechtenstein: See Q. 2

Serbie: Consultations, seminaries and special expert’s literature.

Iceland : No special training takes place.

Albania/Albanie: According to an Order issued by the General Prosecutor in  October 2007 it is the Chief of the District Prosecution Office who appoints the prosecutors on the Department for Juveniles, based on their experience and training in dealing with juvenile crimes. As a rule their training process is the same with that followed by other prosecutors of the DPO, but of course it takes into consideration the needs for specialization.

4.    S’agissant des mineurs victimes d’infractions, les procureurs ont-ils à leur disposition des procédures et des moyens particuliers, notamment pour le recueil des témoignages ? Par ailleurs, ont-ils toute latitude dans leurs choix d’action publique ou leurs compétences sont-lles parfois limitées par la loi, ar exemple quant au choix de mesures alternatives aux sanctions pénales ou aux réquisitions de détention pour des mineurs déjà condamnés ou récidivistes ? Ces choix d’action publique, pour la prison, pour certains types de peines, sont-ils également différenciés par la loi en fonction de l’âge du mineur en cause ? Si oui, veuillez préciser.

As regards victims of offences, can the public prosecutors apply specific procedures and means, in particular to collect testimonies? Moreover, are they free to choose ways of prosecuting or are their powers sometimes limited by the law, for instance as regards the choice of alternatives to prosecution or of the prison sentences requested for juveniles already condemned or second offenders? Does the law specify according to the juvenile concerned between these prosecution choices, for prison, for some types of sentences? If yes, please specify.

Belgium/ Belgique: A l’égard des mineurs victimes d’infractions, le Code d’instruction criminel contient un chapitre spécifique relatif à l’audition des mineurs victimes ou témoins de certains délits (Chap. VIIIbis, art. 91bis à 101, C.I.Cr.).

Un mineur victime ou témoin de certaines infractions énumérées à l’article 91bis du Code d’instruction criminelle, doit se faire accompagner par la personne majeure de son choix lors de toute audition, sauf si l’intérêt du mineur s’y oppose.

Le procureur du Roi ou le juge d’instruction peut ordonner l’enregistrement de l’audition. Dans des circonstances graves et exceptionnelles, ils peuvent procéder à l’enregistrement audiovisuel de l’audition du mineur. Dans ces deux cas, lorsque le mineur est âgé de plus de 12 ans, son consentement est requis. Si le mineur a moins de 12 ans, il est seulement informé de l’enregistrement de son audition.

Au niveau de la procédure, l’audition enregistrée a lieu dans un local spécialisé en présence éventuellement d’un ou plusieurs membres du service technique et d’un expert psychiatrique ou psychologue. L’interrogateur explique au mineur les raisons de l’enregistrement ainsi que la possibilité qui lui est offerte d’interrompre l’enregistrement. Un procès-verbal de l’audition enregistrée est établi.

En ce qui concerne les mineurs ayant commis un fait qualifié infraction, il y a 3 mesures que peut proposer le parquet (articles 45ter et 45quater de la loi du 8 avril 1965):

è Classement sans suite, éventuellement accompagné des modalités suivantes (pas de conditions d’âge):

-       Rappel à la loi

Le procureur a la possibilité de convoquer le mineur et ses représentants légaux pour leur adresser un rappel à la loi.  Cette convocation dans les bureaux du magistrat permettra au mineur de faire valoir ses moyens de défense devant le magistrat et d’éventuellement apporter plus de précisions quant aux faits qui lui sont reprochés.  Ses représentants légaux, également convoqués, auront certainement l’occasion d’obtenir plus d’informations quant aux faits reprochés à leur enfant.

-       Lettres d’avertissement

Le procureur peut adresser à l’auteur présumé du fait qualifié infraction une lettre d’avertissement dans laquelle il indique qu’il a pris connaissance des faits, qu’il estime ces faits établis à charge du mineur et qu’il a décidé de classer le dossier sans suite.  Une copie de cette lettre est transmise aux père et mère, au tuteur du mineur ou aux personnes qui en ont la garde en droit ou en fait.

èMédiation (pas de conditions d’âge, mais d'un point de vue méthodologique, il est conseille de se limiter aux jeunes qui ont douze ans ou plus au moment de la proposition).

La médiation permet au jeune, aux personnes qui exercent l'autorité parentale à son égard, aux personnes qui en ont la garde en droit ou en fait, ainsi qu'à la victime (si celle-ci est mineure, ses parents et/ou les personnes civilement responsables sont également invités) d'envisager ensemble et avec l'aide d'un médiateur neutre, les possibilités de rencontrer les conséquences notamment matérielles et relationnelles d'un fait qualifié infraction.
Un médiateur indépendant instaure un processus de communication entre la victime et le jeune. L'attention se porte sur la réparation du dommage subi par la victime. Le jeune prend activement ses responsabilités dans la réparation du dommage, qu'il soit de nature financière ou morale. Il se peut que les personnes concernées se réunissent pour une discussion au cours de laquelle des questions directes peuvent être posées et les expériences peuvent être échangées.
Si les parties ne trouvent pas d'accord, cela ne signifie cependant pas nécessairement que la médiation a échoué. Malgré le fait que les personnes concernées n'aient finalement pas trouvé d'accord, la médiation peut avoir été utile. La victime peut par exemple avoir reçu une réponse à sa ou ses question(s) et le jeune peut également mieux réaliser les conséquences de son acte.

è Stage parental (pas de conditions d’âge)

Le stage parental a pour objectif de remobiliser les parents qui manifestent un désintérêt caractérisé à l'égard du comportement délinquant de leur enfant afin de les aider dans les tâches éducatives dans lesquelles ils se montrent déficients, tout en évitant la moindre stigmatisation ou répercussion négative sur l'autorité parentale.

Croatia/ Croatie: In criminal proceedings where children or juveniles are injured persons – especially in criminal offences against sexual freedom and sexual morality and criminal offences against marriage, family and youth, when a witness examined is a child who has been injured by the criminal offence, the examination is carried out with the assistance of a psychologist, pedagogue or other expert person. An investigating judge shall order that the examination be video-taped and audio-taped. The examination shall be carried out in the absence of the judge and parties in a room where the child is situated in such a manner that the child can be questioned by the parties through the investigating judge, psychologist, educator or other expert person. This manner of examination is prescribed by Article 238 of the Criminal Procedure Act. Minutes are made on examining and it is read during the trial, and tapes are reproduced, and in that way secondary victimisation of the injured child are avoided. If an injured child is questioned for the first time during the trial, panel may decide that the questioning be conducted by the president of the panel outside the trial, and such questioning will be conducted in the manner described above. During the questioning of a juvenile, especially if a juvenile is an injured person, questioning will be conducted in a manner which will enable avoidance of damaging effects to juvenile’s psychiatric state.

            Law on Juvenile Courts enables a State Attorney not to initiate criminal proceedings although a reasonable suspicion, that a juvenile committed a criminal offence for which a prison sentence of 5 years or a fine are prescribed, exists if he/she thinks that there would be no purpose in conducting criminal proceedings against a juvenile taking into consideration nature of a criminal offence and circumstances in which the offence was perpetrated, prior life of a juvenile and his/her personality characteristics. Furthermore, State Attorney may condition the decision not to initiate proceedings by readiness of a juvenile to fulfil obligations prescribed by Article 64 of the Law on Juvenile Courts. When a juvenile fulfils the obligations (according to his/her own capabilities of amending or compensating the damage caused by the offence, become involved in the work of charity organizations or work of community service, undergoes treatment of addiction or becomes involved in individual or group work within Youth Counceling) under cooperation and supervision of Social Service, State attorney will make a final decision on non-initiating of proceedings. Also, when execution of penalty or educational measure is underway or these sanctions became final, or a juvenile, by the decision of Social Service has been placed in Social Service institution, State attorney may decide not to initiate proceedings for other criminal offence a juvenile committed if conducting proceedings and pronouncing sanctions for the offence would not bear meaning taking into consideration the severity and nature of the offence and motive of commitment.

Provisions on opportunity of conducting criminal proceedings are meaningfully applied in criminal proceedings against younger adults, if it is establish that it is possible to take into consideration the application of juvenile criminal law.

            As it is already mentioned above, juvenile imprisonment may be pronounced to older juvenile for criminal offence for which a prison sentence of five (5) years or more is prescribed, if in regard to the nature and severity of the criminal offence it is necessary to pronounce a sentence. Juvenile imprisonment cannot last less than six months or longer than five (5) years and it is pronounced in full years and months. Juvenile imprisonment may last up to ten (10) years for criminal offence for which long-term imprisonment is prescribed or for committing concurrently adjudicated criminal offences (at least two) for which prison sentence longer than 10 years is prescribed. In deciding on the imprisonment, the court will take into consideration all circumstances affecting the range of the sentence (Article 56 paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code – A General Rule on the Selection of the Type and Range of the Punishment) having in mind the degree of maturity of a juvenile, time necessary of his/her upbringing, education and vocational training, and the sentence may be shorter in regard to degree of guilt if it will be enough to achieve the purpose of punishment. A juvenile convicted to juvenile imprisonment may be released on parole if he/she served one third of the sentence, but not before he/she spent six months in prison institution. During parole court may pronounce educational measure of enhanced supervision. Parole lasts until the time period for which the sentence was received. It can also be revoked if a convicted juvenile, during parole, commits one or more criminal offences for which a prison sentence in duration of six months or juvenile imprisonment of six months are prescribed. Court may also pronounce a sentence that juvenile is guilty of committing criminal offence and at the same time hold from pronouncing juvenile imprisonment if the court feels that the possibility of subsequent punishment would restrain the perpetrator from committing further criminal offences. Besides the judgement court may also pronounce an educational measure of enhanced care and supervision or one or more special obligations. After at least one year of probation court may pronounce final withholding from juvenile imprisonment if the new facts confirm that the juvenile will not commit further criminal offences. Before making such decision the court will question Social Service representative. If a juvenile whose juvenile imprisonment sentence had been withheld, is sentenced for committing other criminal offence or received educational measure during probation, court will pronounce a judgement for criminal offence priory committed criminal offence, if that, considering the new sentence or educational measure would be necessary to divert the juvenile from committing further criminal offences. A juvenile may receive a sentence for criminal offence committed before if he/she, regardless of the explicit warning of the court refuses to fulfil special obligations or constantly opposes conducting educational measure he/she received.

Denmark/ Danemark: The Danish Criminal Code does not prescribe the use of specific sanctions for juveniles in connection with specific offences. As described under question 5 special sanctions for juveniles exist and are used by the court when the conditions for using them are fulfilled.

According to DCC, however, the prescribed penalty for a crime can be lowered if the offender was less than 18 years old when he committed the crime. Furthermore, the penalty in respect of such offenders may not exceed imprisonment for eight years.

As regards child victims a video recording of the police interrogation of the child can and is (especially in sexual abuse cases) used as evidence in court. Video recordings are used when child victims are 12 years old or less, but can if needed also be used in relation to child victims who are older than 12 years. As a general rule, however, children who are 12 years or older have to give evidence in court. In these cases the prosecutor can request the court to decide on a number of measures that will make the giving of evidence less stressful for the child. For instance, the court can make a decision on proceedings behind closed doors, on reporting restrictions, on prohibition of the publication of names of the defendant, to the effect that the defendant shall leave the courtroom during the child’s testimony, or that the child’s address and/or address must not be disclosed to the defendant.

Spain/ Espagne: Public prosecutors are empowered to end the procedure without sanctions. They are also authorised to end the procedure through mediation or other restorative agreements.

Public prosecutors have an important degree of discretion, but this discretion is limited, even prohibited when the object of the procedure is a serious crime.

For the most serious crimes (such as terrorism, assassination, rape and similar) is compulsory to impose a sanction involving deprivation of liberty. Nevertheless, General Prosecutor Guidelines authorise even in these cases, to promote probation to minors of 14 and 15 years old if justified.

Estonia/ Estonie : A prosecutor may collect testimonies independently or with the assistance of investigative bodies but witnesses and victims who are below fourteen years of age are interrogated with the participation of a child protection official, social worker, or psychologist. A victim support specialist, who has counselled the victim, may also be involved in the interrogation. Witnesses and victims who are minors are generally interrogated in an interrogation room for minors, which is furnished with furniture and recording systems that consider the age of the child. In case of sexual offences and offences against the person, minors below 14 years of age are not interrogated more than once unless it is inevitable; if possible, minors who are victims in sexual offences and offences against the person are not summoned to court to give testimony directly for the second time if this may bring them new suffering. In such case, video recordings are being used.

Moreover, are they free to choose ways of prosecuting or are their powers sometimes limited by the law, for instance as regards the choice of alternatives to prosecution or of the prison sentences requested for juveniles already condemned or second offenders? Does the law specify according to the juvenile concerned between these prosecution choices, for prison, for some types of sentences? If yes, please specify.

Prosecutors are formally not restricted by the law when choosing a punishment or sanction to be imposed on a minor, and the law does not connect it to the degree of the criminal offence or to previous punishments. Thus, the decision of the prosecutor is based on the circumstances characteristic to the person, on the proposal of the probation supervisor, on the opinion of the legal representative regarding the punishment or sanction, on whether the juvenile committee has previously imposed sanctions on the person, and on which effect such sanctions have had.

In all cases, the prosecutor may choose between the following options:

1.    Terminate the criminal proceedings and send the materials to the juvenile committee of the minor’s residence (a special committee which deals with the problems of young people at the local level and is not a part of the court system). Juvenile committees may impose the following sanctions: admonition; sanctions concerning the organisation of study; referral to a psychologist, addiction specialist, social worker, or other specialist for consultation; obligation to live with a parent, foster parent, guardian, or in a family with a caregiver, or in a children’s home; community service; surety; participation in youth or social programmes or medical treatment; sending to a school for pupils who need special treatment due to behavioural problems. Before sending the materials to the juvenile committee, the prosecutor will explain to the minor and his or her legal representative the essence of the act with criminal elements and the grounds for terminating criminal proceedings. The juvenile committee will be sent a criminal file or selection of materials to the extent necessary for the juvenile committee for choosing the right sanction. Such measures are not entered into the punishment register of the person.

2.    Forward the materials to a court, which may impose the following alternative sanctions on the minor (will be entered into the punishment register):

1)    admonition;

2)    subjection to supervision of conduct;

3)    placement in a youth home;

4)    placement in a school for pupils who need special treatment due to behavioural problems.

3.    Bring charges and request a formal criminal sanction for the minor, e.g. a pecuniary punishment or imprisonment. Requesting a prison sentence to a minor must be deliberated by the prosecutor and exceptionally applied when choosing an alternative type of punishment is not justified.

                              Finland/ Finlande: The testimony of a victim of an offence who is under 15 years of age may be received in court for probative purposes without hearing the victim in person in court. Section 11 of chapter 17 of the Code of Judicial Procedure prescribes that if a statement given in a pre-trial criminal investigation by a person who has not reached the age of 15 years (or a person who is mentally incapacitated) has been recorded on a video recording device or on a comparable video and audio recording, the statement may be admitted as evidence in court if the defendant is provided with an opportunity to present questions to the person being heard.

Under section 21 of chapter 17 of the Code of Judicial Procedure, a person who has not reached the age of 15 years or who is mentally incapacitated may be heard as a witness or for probative purposes if the court deems this appropriate and if

                     

1) hearing him or her personally is of central significance to the clarification of the matter; and

                      2) hearing the person would probably not cause said person suffering or other harm that could injure him or her or his or her development.

      Where necessary the court must appoint a support person for the person to be heard.

Greece/ Grèce: By virtue of the dispositions of Law 3625/2007 (Official gazette A’290/24.12.2007) by which the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography has been ratified, adopted by Resolution 54/263 (25th May 2000) and by virtue of the dispositions of Law 3727/2008 (Official gazette A’257/18.12.2008) by which the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, adopted in 2007 in Lanzarote, Spain, has been ratified, many new dispositions have been introduced in the Greek penal law concerning the protection of minor victims of crimes against personal and sexual freedom during penal procedure. In particular, the following innovations have been established among others: the obligation to register the deposit of the minor victim during the preliminary proceedings at an electronic audio-visual medium, so that its electronic presentation may replace the physical presence of the minor victim during subsequent stages of the procedure; the obligatory presence and preparation of the examination of the minor victim by a child psychologist or child psychiatrist who collaborates with the investigation officers and the judicial officers, drawing up the relative report (article 226A Code of Penal Procedure); holding investigation for the above minor victims’ cases in absolute priority; their trial by a higher court even in the first instance, that is the Three-Judges Felonies Court of Appeal, in which no jury participates, but only ordinary judges; and the brief (6 months) determination of the hearing date of these cases. The Minors Public Prosecutor competencies and duties, both during the preliminary investigation and the main procedure in the Minors Court, do not present differences from those provided for adult perpetrators, with the exceptions already mentioned and in particular with the possibility of applying the disposition of article 45A Penal Code. Both for adults and minors, penal prosecution is mainly exercised ex officio except from the cases for which the filing of a complaint is required. Bending down of the principle of legality is however provided for, through the power of Public Prosecutor to refrain from exercising penal prosecution in case of misdemeanours or minor offenses, according to article 45A Code of Penal Procedure.

Italy/ Italie: Public prosecutors can examine through protective methods young witnesses who are the victims of crimes. They can be helped by specialised experts (e.g. psychologists, infantile neuropsychiatrists etc.). These methods are always used with children who are victim of sexual abuse. Every public prosecution office for juveniles has also a specialised criminal investigation unit.

Due to the mandatory nature of the criminal action in the Italian system, the public prosecutor has strict limits for his/her choices, defined by the law. Every choice is subject to judicial control. When the public prosecutor considers a crime “slight” and the illicit conduct of the young defendant as “occasional”, he/she can request a non suit judgement “for criminal irrelevance of the fact” (but the judge can disagree and order the public prosecutor to prosecute).

Another possibility for the public prosecution is to ask the court to suspend the proceedings for a sort of probation. The positive result of the probation (which can last up to three years) extinguishes the criminal offence.

Netherlands/ Pays-Bas: Witnesses and suspects make statements to the police, the examining magistrate (rechter commissaris) and the courts. Witnesses are summoned and must appear, otherwise they run the risk of being committed for failure to comply with a court order. Suspects have the right to remain silent.

If there is sufficient evidence, the public prosecutor is free to decide whether or not to prosecute (the discretionary principle). He may choose from a        range of alternative forms of disposal, such as referral to the HALT Bureau (where young offenders are given the chance to make amends by repairing damage caused etc), or imposing a community service order or course of study and/or a fine in lieu of prosecution. In making this choice, however, public prosecutors are bound by the policy rules laid down by the Public Prosecution Service which recommend certain forms of alternative sanction depending on the circumstances. In the interests of uniformity, these policy rules are widely observed. For persistent offenders alternative sanctions are often no longer an option.

Poland/ Pologne: In cases when a juvenile is responsible as an adult under the Penal Code, the general standards of the Code of Criminal Procedure for the accused are applied.

There are certain differences for hearing an injured person and witness who not completed 15 years at the time of the prohibited act. According to the Article 185a and 185b of Polish Code of Criminal Procedure, they should be heard by the court with the participation of an expert psychologist.  

Slovak Republic/ République Slovaque: Criminal proceedings and the status of the prosecutor therein are subject to the general principle that applies also to the proceedings involving juvenile offenders, being the principle of legality. Its purpose is to make sure that all offences, of which the law enforcement agencies are aware, will be duly and fairly investigated regardless of whether the police want to investigate them, and if necessary, other formal actions will be taken to prosecute and finally dispose of such cases provided that all statutory requirements have been duly met. The police and the Prosecution Service as the authorities in charge of investigation and prosecution are obliged to investigate and prosecute criminal activities and identify perpetrators. The prosecutor supervises legality of actions taken prior to the commencement of criminal proceedings and at the pre-trial stage. He provides guidance to the police and instructs the police on some procedures to be followed, he supervises individual actions taken by the police through being present in person, or takes the action himself where necessary. The Prosecutor can overrule any unlawful or unjustified decision, he may return the matter to the commanding police officer and ask him to provide any additional information, or he may reallocate the case to any other police officer. These prosecutors’ rights may be exercised in all pending cases. The prosecutor may be present at the interviews of juvenile victims adversely affected by the crime, or he may as well take the initiative and interview victims himself. The interviewing of the person below the age of 15 as a witness in situations, where his evidence and deposition as to his knowledge of the criminal offence, offender or facts in issue relevant to the investigation could have an adverse effect on the witness´ mental or moral development, needs to be conducted very carefully and in such a way (mainly in terms of oral evidence presented) that no other repeated interview will have to take place at any later stage of the proceedings. The law requires the presence of a qualified teacher, any other person having experience with the upbringing of youth, or any expert who is able to supervise the proper conduct of the interview. At the pre-trial stage, such a witness may be questioned and interviewed again only with the prosecutor´s consent. If the interviewed witness is below the age of 15 and if the case involves the offence committed against the relative, adopted child, foster child or child placed in the residential care facility, or if based on the circumstances of the case it may be reasonably assumed that in any repeated interview the person below the age of 15 could distort the reality, or if it may be reasonably assumed that any repeated interview might adversely affect the witness´ mental and moral development, the interview must be conducted by using technical audio-visual facilities; however, such person may be interviewed again at any later stage of the proceedings only exceptionally.

Principle of legality binding on the prosecutor is modified by the principle of opportunity. The Criminal Procedure Code defines cases and situations, in which the prosecutor is not allowed or cannot prosecute offences regardless of the age of perpetrator.

No criminal charges may be brought if

Under relevant provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code the prosecutor may exercise his discretion and decide that he will not bring criminal charges against the perpetrator on legitimate grounds established by virtue of law; this is the platform for

§   Dismissal of the case before bringing criminal charges on the grounds of their obvious inexpediency and due to the fact such dismissal is preferable to prosecution

§   Dismissal of the case where the likely penalty for the original low-level offence if the case were to proceed to the court is insignificant when compared to the penalty already imposed on the perpetrator under a final court judgement for any other offence, or dismissal of the case because a final and conclusive judgment has been rendered by a foreign court on the original offence, or if a final decision has been made in other than criminal proceedings and such decision can be regarded to be the sufficient and appropriate way to address the offender´s behaviour

§   Dismissal of the case which involves assisting offender provided that other legal requirements have been met

§   Conditional caution provided that other legal requirements have been met

§   Conditional caution administered on assisting offenders provided that other legal requirements have been met

§   Reconciliation in criminal proceedings and dismissal of the case provided that other legal requirements have been met.

Theoretically speaking, these can also include rather a new procedure which may take place under the Criminal Procedure Code, being plea bargaining.

The above-mentioned range of options is also applied in criminal proceedings, which involve juvenile offenders. The Slovak Criminal Procedure Code does not have any provisions that would apply specifically only to juvenile offenders.

Romania/ Roumanie: The minor victims of offences are heard by the prosecutor according to the common rules of procedure, ensuring the non-public character of the procedure and the observance of the human dignity.

The law no. 211/2004 on the measures of ensuring the protection of victims of offences provides as special measures: psychological counseling of the victims of certain offences and others forms of assistance for the victims of offences, upon request, ensured by the services of victims’ protection and offenders’ social reintegration, such as free legal assistance granted to certain categories of victims, upon request.

A special protection measure for the victims of offences is the “Interdiction to come back to the family residence for a determined period,” provided under art. 1181 of the Criminal Code.

According to these provisions, “When the person sentenced to at least one year of imprisonment for battery or any other acts of violence causing physical or mental suffering, perpetrated against family members, if the court of law ascertains that his/her presence at the family residence seriously jeopardizes the other family members, it may take against this person the measure to ban his/her going back to the family residence, at the request of the injured party. This measure may be taken for a duration of up to two years.”

Prosecutors do not have the liberty to choose the prosecution modality. The Criminal Procedure Code does not stipulate the principle of opportunity or the plea bargain. The prosecutor can but acknowledge the fulfillment of the legal conditions for carrying out the criminal action.

The types of penalties are not limited by law for the minors already convicted either, as it rests upon the court of law to assess according to the legal criteria, with the mention that there is no relapse into crime for minors and that previous convictions do not call de plano for an aggravated treatment.

Even if, while being confined in a reeducation center or in a medical-educational institute or while being released before becoming of age, the minor perpetrates another offence, the enforcement of the prison punishment is not mandatory (article 108 paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code). The absconding of the minor from fulfilling the obligations provided in case of freedom under observation also does not mandatory entail the enforcement of the prison punishment (article 1101  paragraph 3 of the criminal Code).

If during the trying period, the convicted person perpetrates another offence, for which a final decision was pronounced, even after the expiry term, the court shall revoke the conditional suspension, ordering the entire execution of the punishment, which shall not be absorbed by the punishment applied for the new offence (article 1101  paragraph 3 and article 83 of the criminal Code).

The mala fide non-fulfillment of the supervision measures or of the obligations settled by the court shall entail the revocation of the suspended execution of the punishment under observation and the entire execution of the punishment (article 1101  paragraph 3 and article 864  paragraph 2 of the criminal Code).

The law does not specify between these two ways of prosecuting according to the age of the minor in case.

Slovenia/ Slovénie: As regards the participation of juvenile victims in the procedures, we have special rules in our Criminal Procedure Act. According to these rules juvenile victims of:

a) criminal offences against sexual inviolability,

b) criminal offence of neglect of minors and cruel treatment or

c) criminal offence of trafficking in human beings,

shall have an attorney to care for his rights, particularly in connection with the protection of his integrity during examination before the court and during the assertion of a claim for indemnification. To juvenile victims without an attorney the court shall assign ex officio an attorney from among the members of the Bar.

The basic principle in our criminal justice system is principle of legality. In the field of juvenile crimes, this principle is to a much greater extent substituted with the principle of opportunity. With juvenile crimes, prosecutors have the possibility not to prosecute the case even if all the elements of crime are fulfilled. They have the right to freely estimate if the proceedings against juvenile would be appropriate or not. When they take this decision, they have to examine the nature of the offence, the circumstances in which it was committed and past conduct of juvenile perpetrator with his personal traits.

Our criminal justice system also has some legal instruments which mean the mitigation of basic principle of legality. These instruments are suspended prosecution of a criminal offence and mediation. Especially for juvenile crimes we practice broader approach to use these alternative ways of prosecuting. Even our legislation, which provides the criteria for the use of these possibilities, is different for the juveniles.

Our policy concerning the recidivists is to take into account this fact, when the prosecutor estimates the conditions for the use of alternative ways of prosecution and also when he proposes sentence at the end of the trial. We have already mentioned legal conditions for the use of prison sentence when dealing with juvenile perpetrators (answer 1).

Sweden/ Suède: There are some specific ways of prosecuting juveniles set up by the quite detailed law. These ways are among others to choice alternatives to prosecution. The court may sentence the juvenile to a special sentence, treatment of juveniles. There is also a possibility for prosecutors to issue an order for summary penalty in cases that should normally be tried at court.

Turkey/ Turquie: Article 52 pgf. 3 of Criminal Procedure Code lay down special rules  for the taking of the statements of witnesses if the victims are children.

According it “ The images and voices during the hearing of the witnesses can be recorded. However, this is obligatory in case of testifying by victimized children”

Article 90/3 of Criminal Procedure Code foresees that an offender can be arrested if the victim is a child although crime needs generally a complaint. “In the case of crimes detected in the act that are committed against children or against persons who are not capable of controlling their lives because of a physical or mental illness or disability or limited physical strength, although these crimes may only be investigated and prosecuted pursuant to a complaint by the victim, apprehension of the offender shall not be subject to a complaint.”

According Article 236/2 of the Criminal Procedure Code “The child or the victim whose psychology has been disturbed as a result of the crime committed can only be listened once as a witness during the investigation or the proceeding being carried out with regard to that crime. Cases whereby this is necessary in order to reveal the concrete truth constitute an exception.”

The prosecutor has to request ex officio  for a lawyer according article 239/2 of Criminal Procedure Code if the victim is a child.

According Article 45 of the Criminal Procedure Code   the witness who is in a insufficient age may be listened to as witness with the consent of its legal representatives. If the legal representative is the accused or suspect, he/she cannot decide on refraining of these individuals.

- Normally the prosecutor has according Article 170 of Criminal Procedure Code a duty to pursue the crimes.

The duty to bring a public prosecution rests with the public prosecutor.

The public prosecutor shall prepare an indictment if at the end of the investigation phase the collected evidence supports a suspicion sufficient to indicate that the crime has been committed.

However according the article 171 of Criminal Procedure Code  the prosecutor has a power of discretion :

The power of discretion in filing a public claim

Article 171

(1) In cases where the requirements for the application of the provisions of 'effective remorse, that lift the Punishment as a personal ground", or the provisions of personal impunity are present, the public prosecutor may render the decision that there is ground for prosecution.

(2) Despite there being sufficient suspicion, the public prosecutor may render "the decision on postponing of the filing of the public claim" for a duration of five years for crimes, that are investigated and prosecuted only upon a claim and carry an imprisonment punishment at the upper level of one year or less; the provisions of Article 253, subparagraph 19 are reserved. The individual who suffered from the crime may oppose this decision according to the provisions of Article 173.

(3) All of the following requirements must have been fulfilled in order to be able to render "the decision on postponing of the filing of the public claim"; the provisions related to mediation are reserved:

a) The suspect must not have been convicted for an intented crime priorly with an imprisonment term,

b) The investigation that has been conducted must have revealed the belief that, in case of "postponing of the filing of the public prosecution", the suspect shall refrain from committing furher crimes,

c)   In regard to the suspect and the public, the "postponing of filing of the public prosecution" is more beneficial than would the filing of the public claim,

d) The damage of the victim or the public, which has been occured through the committed crime has been recovered to the full extend by giving back the same object by restoring to the circumstances as it was before the crime has been committed, or by paying the damages.

(4) In cases where no crime has been committed during the period of postponement, "decision on no ground for prosecution'' shall be rendered. In cases where an  intended crime has been committed during the period of postponement, the public claim shall be filed. During the period of postponement, time-limit prescription does not run.

(5)        Decisions related  to "the postponing of the filing of the public prosecution" shall be recorded in a specified data bank for this purpose. These recordings may only be utilized for the purpose mentioned in this Article, if it has been requested by the public prosecutor, judge, or the court, in relation to an investigation or prosecution.

The police have no discretion not to refer cases involving juvenile offenders to the prosecutor for investigation.

-According Article 24 of the Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395)  the rules settled in  the article 253 of the Criminal Procedure Code as regards the mediation have to be applied to the children.

The article 253 is as follows:

Mediation

Article 253 - (1) There shall be an attempt to mediate between the suspect and the victim or the real or juridical person of private law, who has suffered damages from the crime for the following crimes:

a)   Crimes, that are investigated and prosecuted upon the claim;

b)   At the following crimes that are mentioned in the Turkish Penal Code with no regard to whether they require a claim or not:

1.  Intentional wounding (except for subparagraph 3, Art. 86 and Art. 88):

2.  Negligent wounding (Art. 89):

3.  Violation  of tranquility of domicile (Art. 116):

4.  Kidnapping of a child and keeping him (Art. 234):

5. Revealing the information or  documents, that have the nature of commercial secrets, banking secrets    or    secrets    of    the customers (Article 239 except for subparagraph four)

(2)  Except for crimes, that are investigated and prosecuted upon a claim, for crimes that are included in other statutes, there must be a special provision in that statute in order to apply the way of mediation.

(3)  In crimes that allow the application of the provisions of effective remorse and crimes against the sexual inviolability, the way of mediation is excluded, even if their investigation and prosecution is dependant upon a claim.

(4)  In cases where the crime under investigation is depending on mediation, the public prosecutor, or upon his orders, the official of judicial security forces, shall propose mediation to the suspect and to the victim or to the person who has suffered damages from the crime. In cases where the suspect, the victim or the person who has suffered damages from the crime is not an adult, the proposal of mediation shall be made to their legal reperesentative. The public prosecutor is also entitled to make the proposal of mediaton by a notification furnished with ah explanation or rogatory letter. In cases where the suspect, the victim or the person who has suffered damages from the crime does not notify his decision about the mediation within 3 days after the proposal of mediation, it shall be considered that he has refused the mediation.

(5)  In cases where a proposal for mediaton has been made, the nature and legal consequences of accepting or refusing the mediation shall be explained to that person.

(6)  If the victim, the person who has suffered damages from the crime, the suspect or their legal representatives cannot be reached because he is not present at the address that has been declared to the official authorities, or is outside of the country or for any other ground, then the investigation shall be concluded without applying the way of mediation.

(7)  In order to apply the way of mediation in crimes where more than one person has been victimized or has been damaged, it is required that all of the victims or persons who have suffered damages from the crime have accepted the mediation.

(8)  The proposal of mediation, or the acceptance of mediation, does not hinder the collection of evidence of the crime that is under   investigation nor the application of the measures of protection.

(9)  In cases where the suspect and  the victim or the person who has suffered damages from the crime has accepted the proposal  of mediation, the public prosecutor is entitled to conduct the mediation himself, or may ask the Bar Association  to appoint  a lawyer as mediator, or may appoint a mediator from the list of persons who have obtained an education of law.

(10)The grounds of exclusion of the judge because of circumstances determined in this Code, shall also be considered while appointing the mediator.

(11)The appointed  mediator shall be given a copy of each document included in the case file that are estimated appropriate by the public prosecutor. The public prosecutor shall caution the mediator about the requirement of complying with principles of the confidentiality of the investigation.

(12)The mediator shall conclude the  interactions  of mediation within 30 days the latest after he has received the copies of the documents included in the file of investigation. The public prosecutor may  extend   this period for a maximum of 20 days.

(13)The mediation conferences shall be conducted confidentially. The suspect, the victim or the person who has suffered damages from the crime, the legal representative, the defense counsel or the representative may be present during the mediation conferences. In cases where the suspect, the victim or the person who has suffered damages from the crime or his legal representative, or representative does not attend the mediation conference personally, he shall be considered as if he has refused the mediation.

(14)The mediator is entitled to consult the public prosecutor about the procedure to follow during the mediation conferences; the public prosecutor may give directions to the mediator.

(15)At the end of the mediation conferences, the mediator shall produce a report and submit it to the public prosecutor, together with the copies of the documents that have been handed over to him. If the mediation occurs, the details of the kind of mediation agreement shall be clearly explained in the report that shall be furnished with the signatures of the parties.The suspect and the victim or the person who has suffered damages from the crime may apply to the public prosecutor the latest until the date the indictment has been prepared, and produce the document that states that they have mediated their dispute, even if the proposal of mediation has been previously refused.

(17) If the public prosecutor establishes that the mediation has been achieved with the free will of the parties, and the subject of the contract is in conformity with law, then he shall put his seal and signature under the report or the document and keep it within the file of investigation.

(18) If the mediation ends without any positive result, the way of mediation shall not be applied again.

(19) If at the end of the mediation the suspect fulfills the object of the contract at once, the decision on no ground for prosecution shall be rendered. If fulfillment of the object of the contract has been postponed to a future date, or to installments, or has the nature of continuity, the decision on "postponing the filing of public prosecution" shall be rendered, without checking the requirements that are listed in Art. 171. During the duration of  the postponement, the time limitation shall rest. If the necessities of mediation shall not be fulfilled after the decision of the "postponing the filing of public prosecution", the public prosecution shall be filed, without            checking the requirements that are mentioned in Art. 171/4. In cases, where the mediation is achieved, no tort claim may be filed for the crime under prosecution; if there is a pending case, this case shall be considered as withdrawn. If the suspect does not fulfill the object of the contract, the report or the document of mediation shall be considered one of the documents that is listed in Art. 38 of the Act on Execution and Concurs, dated 9.6.1932, No. 2004.

(20)   The assertions made during the mediation conferences shall not be used as evidence in any investigation and prosecution, or in any case.

(21)The time limitations of the prosecution and the duration of the case that is a requirement for prosecution shall not run from the date when the first mediation proposal has  been made to the suspect, the victim or the person who has suffered damages from the crime, the latest until the date when the initiative of mediation was unsuccessful, or until the date when the mediator prepares and submits his report to the public prosecutor.

(22)  The fee of the mediator that is proportional to his work and expenses, shall be estimated and paid by the public prosecutor. The fee of the mediator and other expenses of mediation shall be considered as court expenses. In cases where  the mediation is accomplished, these payments shall be compensated by the state treasury.

(23)       Against the decisions rendered at the end  of the mediation, the legal remedies which are foreseen in this Code are applicable.

(24)       The details about the application of the mediation shall be regulated by an internal statute.

 The law was amended in 2006 to restrict the scope of application of this law to certain offences, eliminating the preferential treatment of juveniles. Such settlement can be proposed by the prosecutor, or by the police or the judge with the order of the prosecutor. It is handled directly by the prosecutor or judge, or by a lawyer, not by trained mediators.

-  According the article 231 of the Criminal Procedure Code  only for  the ones who have not been convicted for an intended crime priorly can the related court decide to delay the pronouncement of the judgment.

If these conditions are met, and the judge approves, prosecution may be postponed

for a period of three years. If the accused is not convicted of another offence during this time, the case is closed.

Pronouncement of the judgment and delaying the pronouncement of the judgment Article 231 –

(1) At the end of the main trial, the outcome of the judgment that has been taken into the records of the trial according to the rules as indicated in Article 232, shall be read out and the main outlines of the reasons shall be explained.

(2)        To the accused who is present, additionally the legal remedies he may apply to, where to apply for them, and the time limits shall be notified. The accused who is acquitted shall be notified of ground of asking for compensation if there is any. The outcome of the judgment shall be listened to by everybody while standing. In cases where at the end of the adjudication conducted related to the crime charged to the accused, if he shall be punished with imprisonment of two years or less or a judicial fine, the court may decide to delay the pronouncement of the judgment. The provisions related to mediation are preserved. Delaying the pronouncement of the judgment means that the judgment that has been produced shall not have legal effect for the accused.

(6) In order to be able to render "the decision on delaying the pronouncement of the judgment",  the following requirements must have been fulfilled:

The accused must not have been convicted for an intented crime priorly,

Considering the characteristics of the personality of the accused and his behavior during the main trial, the court has to reach the belief that the accused shall not commit further crimes,

a)   The damage to the victim or the public, due to the committed crime has been recovered to the full extent by giving back the same object, by restoring the circumstances as they were before the crime had been committed, or by paying the damages.

(7)   In the judgment, of which the pronouncement has been delayed, the inflicted imprisonment term shall not be postponed, and in cases where the punishment is a short term imprisonment, it shall not be converted into the alternative sanctions.

In cases where a decision on delaying the pronouncement of the judgment has been rendered, the accused shall be subject to a probation term for five years.

(8) The court may decide that the accused shall be subject to an obligation of probation, not exceeding one year:

(9) a)    In cases where he has no profession or skill, the cour t may decide that he shall take part in an education program in order for him to obtain a profession or a skill,

(10)b)  In cases where he  has a profession or a skill, the court may decide that he shall work for a fee in a public institution or in a private place, under the supervision of another person who performs the same profession or skill,

(11)c) The court may decide that he shall be prohibited from going to certain places, that he shall be obliged to visit certain places, or to fulfill another obligation which shall be determined by the discretion of the court. During the period of probation, the time limit prescription of prosecution shall lapse.

(12)(9) In cases, where the accused is not able to fulfill the requirement that is mentioned in subsection (c) of subparagraph 6 immediately, the court may decide as well that the pronouncement of the judgment shall be delayed under the requirement that the accused pays the damages of the public or the victim in the full extent in monthly installments.

(10)   In cases where there has been no intentional crime committed during the period of probation and the obligations related to the measures of controlled liberty, the judgment, of which the prouncement had been delayed, shall be annulled, and the court shall render the decision on dismissing the case.

(11) In cases where the accused has committed a new intentional crime during the period of controlled liberty, or has violated the obligations related to the controlled liberty, the court shall pronounce the judgment. However, the court may evaluate the circumstances related to the accused who was not able to fulfill the obligations inflicted on him, and may decide that the portion of the punishment which may be determined up to the half of the original one shall not be executed, or if the requirements are present, to suspend the imprisonment, or to convert the punishments in the judgment into alternative sanctions, thus forming a new judgment

12)  The decision on delaying the pronouncement of the judgment may be subject to opposition.

(13)  Decision related to  "the delaying the pronouncement of the judgment" shall be recorded in a specified data bank for this purpose. These recordings may only be utilized for the purpose mentioned in this Article, if it has been requested by the public prosecutor, judge, or the court, in relation to an investigation or prosecution.

(14) The provisions of this Article related to the "the delaying the pronouncement of the judgment" shall not be applied for crimes that are mentioned in the "reform laws", protected by the provisions of Article 174 of the Constitution

- According the article 50 of the Turkish Criminal Code the court can substitute the imprisonment with some measurements like:

·   A judicial fine;

·   Compensation to the victim or public which returns or restores matters to their previous condition or which indemnifies such in respect of all damage caused; Admittance to an educational institution;

·   Restriction on freedom of movement in respect of certain places and restrictions in conducting certain activities for a duration of between one- half and twice the term of imprisonment;

·   Confiscation of a driving license or any other certificate granting permission to perform specific acts;

·   Deprivation of the right to carry out a profession or to operate in a certain area of activity for a minimum term of between one-half and twice the term of imprisonment;

·   Publicly beneficial work for a minimum term of between half and two times the term of imprisonment, though only with the consent of the offender.

 

Where any offender has not previously received a penalty of imprisonment and the penalty of imprisonment imposed is thirty days or less; or where an offender was under eighteen years of age at the time of the offence and the term of imprisonment imposed is one year or less, such term of imprisonment must  be substituted by one of the alternative sentences described above.

After a judgment becomes final, if any requirements imposed by the alternative sentences have not been commenced, or continued with, within thirty days of the notification conveyed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Court which imposed the sentence shall decide whether to enforce the sentence of short-term imprisonment in full, or in part, and, if so, this sentence shall be enforced immediately.

When the alternative sentence has not been complied with due to reasons beyond the offender’s control, the court which imposed the sentence shall amend the alternative sentence.

 According the Article 51 of the Turkish Criminal Code  a sentence of imprisonment for a term of two years or less may be suspended. The upper limit of this term is three years for those under eighteen of age at the time of the commission of the offence.

However, in order to decide to suspend the sentence,

   a)      the person should not have been sentenced to a penalty for a term of more than three-month imprisonment for an intentional offence,

   b)      the Court should be convinced, as a result of hearing the remorse he expressed during trial, that the offender will not commit further offences in the future.

            The suspension of the penalty may depend upon the condition that compensation is provided to the victim or public, which returns or restores matters to their previous condition or which indemnifies such in respect of all damage caused. In such case, the enforcement of the penalty shall continue at the institution of enforcement until this condition is met. Once the condition is met, the offender shall be released immediately, upon a decision of a judge.

            A probation period which is not less then one year and not more then three years shall be imposed for an offender whose sentence has been suspended. The lower limit of this period shall not be less than the term of sentence.

Within the probation period, the court may decide that an offender, who is under the age of eighteen years, shall attend an educational institution, which provides accommodation when necessary, in order to acquire a profession or trade.

The court may assign an expert to counsel the offender within the probation period. This expert shall give guidance to the offender designed to aid the person, to act responsibly and refrain from negative behaviour; meet and discuss with the authorities of the educational institution or work place of the offender; prepare a report, every three months, on the development, behaviour, social adaptation and sense of responsibility of the offender and convey these reports to the judge.

England and Wales/ Angleterre et le pays de Galle: Initial witness statements are not taken by public prosecutors, but are taken by the police as part of their investigation into a criminal offence. Most statements are taken in writing, although certain categories of witness, such as those under 17 and those who are otherwise vulnerable through incapacity or fear of testifying, may be interviewed by the police and the interview recorded on video. The recording is played in court instead of the witness giving evidence in chief. The witness is then cross examined by defence, but the court may allow this to occur using a TV link which allows victims and witnesses to give evidence without the fear of intimidation by the defendant or the stress of the court room.

The prosecutor can only prosecute a youth if the 2 stages of the test set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors (see answer to question 1 above is satisfied.)

Diversion by way of reprimands and warnings, the formal diversion by the police, can only occur when the following statutory criteria are satisfied:

a.    There is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction;

b.    The public interest is satisfied by use of diversion;

c.    The youth has no previous conviction;

d.    The youth admits the offence.

There are further limitations on this diversion, in that a youth can only receive one reprimand. A second offence may be dealt with by way of a warning ( which is an oral admonishment given by police, followed by a referral to the youth offender team who will carry out an assessment and offer an intervention programme designed to prevent the youth from re offending. )A youth can only receive one warning, unless 2 years have passed from the date that he received the warning to the date of the new offence.

If the youth is not eligible for a warning, then the public interest will usually require a prosecution. However, the prosecutor may decide that no formal action is necessary e.g. where the offence is low level and unlikely to be repeated or that the behaviour has already been dealt with by the rules applicable in the school or children’s home in which the offending behaviour occurred.

Scotland/ Ecosse: In relation to collecting testimonies, the police will take statements from all relevant witnesses in the case. Should further information be necessary, Scots law provides for witnesses to be precognosced (interviewed by someone from the prosecution service or the defence) to ascertain further details.

With regards to prosecutorial decisions, discretion and issues to be considered, the current position is outlined above, in answer to question 1, and further details can be obtained by referring to the Prosecution Code for Scotland.

In Scotland, certain offences, such as murder, carry mandatory prison sentences. However consideration is taken into the individual circumstances of the case and the age and status of the accused.  There are various options for imprisonment, such as within a Young Offenders Institute.

Ukraine: Subject to Article 308 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine, a victim is examined in accordance with rules governing examination of witnesses. Subject to Article 168 and Article 307 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a minor witness under 14 years of age and, upon the court’s discretion, under 16 years of age shall be examined in court in the presence of a teacher and, if required, of a doctor, parents or other representatives in law.

After examination of a minor witness, the latter shall be removed from a courtroom, unless the court finds that presence of such witness in a courtroom is required. On exceptional basis, when interests of the case or protection of a witness so require, a minor witness can be examined, upon the court’s ruling, in the absence of the defendant. At that, after the defendant returns to a courtroom, the court shall make him/her aware of a witness’s testimonies and give him/her the possibility to ask a witness questions and provide explanations on the witness’s testimonies.

Minor victims under 16 years of age shall not be warned about the criminal liability for intentional misinterpretation; they shall be informed on their duty to tell the truth only.

In compliance with the legislation currently in force, a prosecutor produces evidence, participates in examination of evidence, and files motions (including requests for new evidences) (Article 264 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine).

Article 98 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine contains the exhaustive list of penalties imposable on minors who committed any criminal offence (a fine; community service; correctional labor; arrest; imprisonment for a determinate term as major types of penalties; a fine and disqualification from some offices or activities as supplementary penalties).

It is half as much penalties applicable to adult offenders.

In practice, the vast majority of juvenile offenders are placed under supervision of their parents; and individuals who committed crimes of minor gravity for the first time are subject to conditional sentences without imprisonment.

Armenia/ Arménie: sentencing of juvenile offenders – alternative sentences

The most commonly used “alternative sentence” is the called “conditional punishment”, the equivalent of a suspended sentence or probation. It can be imposed when a sentence of imprisonment has been imposed, but the court concludes that “the correction of the convict is possible without serving the sentence.”

The Criminal Code also provides for fines and “public work” (community service). Public work may not be imposed on offenders under the age of 16. Fines may only be imposed on convicted juveniles who have their own income or property.

In addition, the courts have discretion to impose other measures on first offenders who have committed minor or medium offences. These “disciplinary measures” – warning, parental custody, reparation of the victim, restrictions on conduct or placement in special educational facilities for juvenile offenders or “medical-educational” facilities are not considered sentences. In reality, special educational or medical facilities do not exist. The duration of the other measures may not exceed 6 months. If the juvenile does not comply with the measures imposed, the order may be cancelled and a sentence may be imposed.

Portugal: voir la fin du document

Ireland/ Irlande:                   Evidence from child victims

There are a number of legislative provisions under Irish law that allow for alternative methods to be used in collecting evidence from child witnesses. The most notable piece of legislation in relation to such evidence is the Criminal Evidence Act 1992. The Children Act 2001 also contains provisions in relation to the giving of evidence by child witnesses.  

Section 13 of the Criminal Evidence Act 1992 allows for a person under the age of 18 years of age, other than the accused, to give evidence through a live television link. Section 13 further states that where such evidence is given neither the judge nor the barrister or solicitor concerned in the examination of the witness shall wear a wig or gown. It was suggested that this provision infringed the right to fair trial, as protected under the Irish Constitution. However, the constitutionality of section 13 was affirmed in the Supreme Court in the case of Donnelly v. Ireland [1998] 1 IR 321[9]. The applicant claimed that the section violated his right to a fair trial claiming that he had a constitutional right to physically confront his accuser in open court. The Supreme Court upheld the section holding that the right to a fair trial did not include in all circumstances the right to physical confrontation with one’s accuser. The Court further held that fair procedures were satisfied by requiring that the witness give evidence on oath, which was subject to cross-examination, while the witness was under the scrutiny of the judge and jury.

There are provisions under section 14 of the Criminal Evidence Act 1992 for evidence of child witnesses to be given through intermediaries. However, this provision would not appear to be utilised in practice.

Section 15 and 16 allow video-recordings to be admissible where the witness is available for cross-examination in relation to statements made therein. Additional provisions in relation to the admissibility of evidence are outlined in section 27(1) of the 1992 Act which state:

Notwithstanding any enactment, in any criminal proceedings the evidence of a person under 14 years of age may be received otherwise than on oath or affirmation if the court is satisfied that he is capable of giving an intelligible account of events which are relevant to those proceedings.

It was originally the case that the unsworn evidence of a child always required corroboration[10]; however, this requirement was abolished under section 28(1) of the 1992 Act. Section 28 introduced a discretion to give a corroboration warning to the jury where the judge decides it should be given. However, in giving such a warning it is not necessary to use any particular form or words. Subsection 3 provides that the unsworn evidence received by one person under section 27 may corroborate evidence given by another person.

In addition to the Criminal Evidence Act 1992, the Children Act 2001 refers to evidence given by children in court. Notably, section 255 gives the District Court power to take a deposition from a child who is a victim of an offence under Part 12 of the Act (cruelty to children, begging, allowing child to be in a brothel, causing or encouraging sexual offence upon a child) or any of the offences listed in the First Schedule where the court is satisfied on the evidence of a registered medical practitioner that the attendance before a court of the child would involve serious danger to the safety, health or well-being of the child. Alternatively the evidence may be given through a live television link. Subsection 4 provides for the taking of the evidence of a child under 14 years otherwise than on oath or affirmation if the court is satisfied that the child is capable of giving an intelligible account of events which are relevant to the proceedings.

Alternatives to prosecution

As noted, Irish law recognises that prosecution should be a last resort in dealing with young offenders. Please see discussion above on the Juvenile Diversion Programme under question 1.

Sentencing

The Children Act 2001 sets out provisions, under Irish law, for the punishment of child offenders. Section 142 of the Act outlines that a child, who is convicted of an offence, may be sentenced to a “detention order”; such an order allows a child to be detained in a detention school. Section 143 outlines restrictions on the Court’s power to grant a detention order, stating that the court shall only apply such an order where it is satisfied that detention is the only suitable way of dealing with a child and that there is a place available for them at a detention school. Section 155 outlines that where a child reaches the age of 18 while serving a sentence of detention, they shall be transferred to either a prison or another place of detention provided for by the Minister for Justice. Section 156 states that no Court shall pass a sentence of imprisonment on a child or commit a child to prison.

It should be noted that Points 8.14 to 8.21 of the Guidelines for Prosecutors outline the role of prosecutors at sentencing. It will be noted that the prosecutor’s role is to put all relevant information before the court and not to advocate any specific sentence. This position would also apply in relation to the sentencing of children.

Russian Federation/ Fédération de Russie: As regards juvenile victims of criminal assaults: the Russian law provides additional guarantees for their rights and legal interests, as supplementary to the general provisions of the Federal Law “On State Protection of Victims, Witnesses, and Other Persons Participating in Criminal Proceedings” that regulate protection of rights of victims, as well as measures aimed at ensuring safety for persons participating in criminal proceedings. In particular, questioning of juvenile victims as well as witnesses are conducted taking into account the requirements of Article 280 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation: if the age of victims and witnesses participating in a questioning does not exceed 14 years, and also — at the discretion of the court — lies in the range from 14 to 18 years, an educationalist must take part in the questioning. Juveniles with physical and mental disabilities are in all cases questioned in the presence of an educationalist. For juvenile victims, the participation of their legal representatives in a court hearing is ensured in all necessary cases; in the absence of the said persons, it is ensured that representatives of guardianship and tutelage bodies take part in the court hearing. Public prosecution in such cases is conducted by public prosecutors in accordance with the requirements set out in the Order of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation No. 185 dated the 20th November 2007 “On Participation of Prosecutors in the Court Stages of Criminal Justice”. There are certain peculiarities in awarding punishment to accused juveniles (being on trial) which are provided in Chapter 14 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Thus, in addition to general principles of awarding punishment to juveniles, the following data are taken into account: the conditions of the juvenile’s life and education, the level of his/her mental development, other specific features of his/her personality as well as the impact exerted upon the juvenile by older persons (Article 89 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

Juvenile age as a mitigating circumstance is taken into account together with other circumstances. Punishment in the form of deprivation of liberty may not be imposed on juvenile convicts who committed for the first time an offence of minor or average gravity being aged under 16 (sixteen), as well as on other juvenile convicts who committed an offence of minor gravity for the first time. For juvenile convicts who committed an offence of minor or average gravity, as well as a grave offence being aged under 16 (sixteen), the term of punishment imposed cannot exceed 6 (six) years. For the same category of convicts who committed an especially grave offence, the term of punishment may be imposed in the form of deprivation of liberty for a term not exceeding 10 (ten) years. Such a punishment may also be imposed on other juvenile convicts, that is, those being older than 16 (sixteen) years, who committed an offence of any category.

If a juvenile aged under 16 (sixteen) years has committed a number of offences, one of which is an especially grave one, the final punishment imposed on such a convict may not exceed 10 (ten) years of deprivation of liberty. If a grave or especially grave offence was committed by a juvenile convict, the lowest possible term of punishment for the commission of the crime is decreased two-fold.

Czech Republic/ République Tchèque: As regards rights of particularly vulnerable victims, it is necessary to point out that Czech criminal law does not know this category. In spite of that, in the Code of Criminal proceedings it is possible to find provisions that apply only to a certain group of the injured person (victim) or witnesses. The Code of Criminal proceedings requires a specific procedure for them. In reality this therefore creates a category of special (different) victims. Concretely this applies to victims under 15 years of age. 

If a person younger under the age of fifteen is interrogated as a witness concerning the facts recalling of which could have adverse impacts on their mental and moral development with regard to their age, it is necessary to carry out the interrogation in a particularly carefully way and as regards its content in such a way so that usually it was not necessary to repeat interrogation in next proceedings. A pedagogue                   (a teacher) or another person with experience with education of young people who would contribute to the proper conducting of interrogation with regard to the subject matter of interrogation and degree of the mental development of the interrogated person will be present at interrogation. If it can contribute to perform the interrogation correctly, parents can also be present. 

The basic principle for interrogation of children under the age of 15 is a request of single interrogation. 

New interrogation of a child is only possible in necessary cases. Legal regulation is motivated by the effort to prevent so-called system child abuse, which is characteristic by the secondary abuse of a child when after the initial trauma, injury or damage of the child there is this secondary abuse by the system which was supposed to protect the child. Limitation of negative impacts of the criminal proceedings on a child should also be achieved by the regulation in the provisions of section 102 (2) of Code of Criminal proceedings according to which it is possible to give evidence by reading of interrogation of an underage child younger than 15 in the court proceedings on the basis of a court decision without having to fulfil the conditions stipulated in section 211 of Code of Criminal proceedings.

In this connection we would like to point out the Programme of establishment of special interrogation rooms for child victims and witnesses of Ministry of Interior, Crime Prevention Department, in cooperation with the Police Headquarters of the Czech Republic.

Thanks to the Programme of establishment of special interrogation rooms for child victims and witnesses, 17 special interrogation rooms were established in 2007 in the selected criminal police and interrogation stations in the Czech Republic. 

The main goal is to prevent secondary victimisation of child victims within the scope of criminal proceedings and strengthening of lawfulness and quality of acts in criminal proceedings where children participate as victims or witnesses. These rooms are adapted and equipped in such a way to arouse calming atmosphere so that a child is not traumatised by the surroundings. These rooms are equipped with monitoring audio and video technology which enables quality recording of interrogation.[11]

Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic considers a possibility that the rights of victims, as the mentioned subject of special care, were stipulated completely by a special act. This separate and complete stipulation in a special act would emphasise the importance of victims and their rights. Protection against secondary victimisation has not been regulated sufficiently yet. This imperfection should also be eliminated by the proposed act. For the cases specified by law it will be mainly suitable to stipulate the right for interrogation by a person of the same sex, right for accompaniment by a fiduciary, right for interrogations in special rooms. It should also stipulate an obligation of further education (e.g. courses from the field of psychology) of the bodies active in criminal proceedings who come in contact with particularly threatened victims (e.g. the way in which interrogation is carried out).

Public Prosecutors pay attention to consistent use of proposals of alternative ways of criminal proceedings, alternative sanctions and strengthening of individual attitude to the accused.

Act on justice in the matters of young people is based on the principle of economy of criminal repression. The Act instructs to prefer alternative procedures and measures focused on the social integration and prevention. Use of punitive measures is only admissible in cases when it is not possible to achieve the aim of the act in another way. Therefore punitive measure are understood here as ultima ratio.

Generally it is possible to say that public prosecutors in criminal proceedings follow the individual approach to the individual young offenders. In the preparatory proceedings, the public prosecutors use the individual statutory institutes, including educational measures and institutes of diversion (i.e. solving of a matter in a procedural way - diversion).

The emphasis is placed on the educational element of the punishment, resp. measure as well as the actual criminal proceedings. Repressive punishment resp. punitive measures connected with imprisonment are only proposed in justified cases. Most often they use abandonment of imposing of a punitive measure and conditioned abandonment of imposing of a punitive measure with supervision (i.e. alternative sanctions connected with supervision by the probation officer). Implementation of an unconditional punitive measure of imprisonment is only applied in case the punitive measure of conditioned sentence and conditioned sentence with supervision obviously does not fulfil its purpose. 

In this respect and generally in the area of criminal policy towards young people, it is necessary to assess positively the cooperation of bodies active in criminal proceedings with the officers of Probation and Mediation Service. 

The Probation and Mediation Service provides assistance and cooperation in the preparatory procedure. Public prosecutors make use of the assistance and cooperation offered by the Probation and Mediation Service mostly to uncover the causes of crimes and to settle a dispute between the accused and the injured person.

The assistance and cooperation offered by the Probation and Mediation Service in criminal proceedings should help

d)         replace remand in custody by an alternative measure,

e)         the matter in question to be handled in proceedings of a special type,

f)          the punishment to be one not connected with imprisonment.

The activities of public prosecutors making use of the assistance and cooperation offered by the Probation and Mediation Service are based on the principle that such assistance and cooperation

e)         helps remove the consequences of a crime for the injured persons and other persons affected by the crime,

f)          provides special care for juvenile persons and accused persons of an age close to that of juvenile persons,

g)         contributes to the protection of the rights of persons injured by crime and to coordination of social and therapeutic programmes working

Cyprus/Chypre: - The public prosecutors are not directly involved in the investigation. They can only give directions to the Police regarding the investigative stage.

- The Police Regulation No. 5/18 entitled ‘Interrogation and Handling of Cases Involving Juvenile Offenders’ explains the ways in which the Police handle juvenile offenders in accordance with the provisions of the Juvenile Offenders Law, Cap. 157. Explanations are given for the procedures which are followed by the Police for Children under the age of 14, as well as for Young Persons between 14–16 years of age who are involved in various offences.

- Furthermore, this Police Regulation includes General Instructions, where it is emphasized that when the Police handle cases concerning Juveniles, have to bear in mind, among others, the following:

1. The Interrogation and the taking of statements from juveniles must be done in the presence of a parent or guardian (Article 12.3 of the “Rights of Persons being Arrested and taken into Custody” Law of 2005).

2. In cases involving students, their arrest and interrogation in the school must be avoided. If this is necessary, it must be done with the consent and in the presence of the school’s director or his/her representative.

3. In case of an arrest or an accusation against a juvenile, the parent or guardian and the District Police Commander must immediately be notified.

4. When a juvenile is held in custody of a Police Station, any association with an adult who is not a relative of his/her must be avoided.

- In Article 6 (b) of the “Rights of Persons being Arrested and taken into Custody” Law (163(I)/2005) it is provided that when a person under the age of 18 is arrested, the Social Services are also informed, if the best interest of the young offender so requires. Article 10 of the same Law provides that the interrogation of persons under the age of 18 must be done in the presence of his/her attorney and if he/she so wishes in the presence of a parent or guardian (Article 12.3) Furthermore, when a person under the age of 18 is held in custody of a Police Station, he must he kept in a separate cell.

- When Juvenile offenders are criminally liable (14 years old and above) and commit a criminal action can still be dealt with the outside of the court system in order (inter alia) to avoid getting into touch with the Criminal Justice System too early. As far as this choice is concerned, there are the following possibilities:

a)            The Police can simply take no further action against a minor suspect and give just a warning/caution. Theoretically, after the agreed procedure between the Police, the Social Services and the Attorney General’s Office (see Q7), the Police cannot take this decision by itself, but in practice, this can be occurred especially regarding very minor offences.

b)            When the Juvenile Committee decides that no prosecution is advised, and the Attorney General agrees, then either no further action is taken, or the Police is directed to give simply a warning to the young offender, or the young offender is referred to the Social Services and the same measures can be taken as in the cases of children in need of care and protection.

- It should be stated that, apart from these measures that can be taken regarding young offenders, there are no other diversion programmes or victim-offender mediation schemes that can be applied. This is the case not only as far as young offenders are concerned, but also regarding adult offenders. At the moment, though, a draft bill providing mediation in criminal (as well as in family law) cases is under discussion in the Parliament.

- Apart from being dealt with out of court procedures, a juvenile offender can always be prosecuted. If found guilty, a judge could impose the following series of measures available by law:

a)            According to the Juvenile Offenders Law (Cap. 157) , the choices available to the court in dealing with a juvenile offender are the following:

  • dismissing of the charge,
  • imposing probation,
  • committing the offender to the care of a relative or other fit person,
  • sending the offender to a reform school,
  • ordering the offender to pay a fine or to restore the damages to which he or she was liable,
  • only as a last resort, and after having been persuaded that there was no other alternative, the Court may also sentence the offender to imprisonment.

b)            The Probation/Guardianship and other ways of treating convicted persons Law (Law 46 (I)/96) has introduced a wide range of other sentencing options for juvenile offenders (which can be also applied to adult offenders):

  • order a guardianship order; the court places the young offender for a specified period not exceeding three years under the supervision of a probation office and it may also set certain terms that have to be obeyed,
  • order a guardianship order combined with an obligation for community work, provided that the young offender consents to it,
  • order a guardianship order combined with an obligation to attend a tutorial or training session, provided that the young offender consents to it,
  • absolute discharge,
  • conditional discharge.

c)            Section 5 of the Treatment of Drug Addicted Juveniles and Convicted Persons in Detoxification and Rehabilitation Centers Law of 1990 (57(1)/1992) provides for another measure that a court could order especially for drug addicted juveniles and this is the treatment order. This can be issued after an application by the juvenile’s guardian supported by an affidavit which has to satisfy the court that the juvenile needs immediate treatment otherwise his mental/physical health are in severe danger, or there are foreseeable dangers for his future and his life, or he will probably cause harm to himself or to other persons. The length of this order may not be more than 24 months, renewable every 3 months. However, this provision of the Law has never been enacted, since it presupposes the existence of treatment centers that operate according to regulations issued by the Ministry of Health. These regulations until now have not been issued. The Law Committee of the Anti Drug Council for quite a long time has been working on a new law which hopefully will introduce practicable and effective provisions.

France: Oui il existe des procédures et moyens particuliers par exemple des locaux particuliers dans les enceintes hospitalières ou les services de police avec des dispositifs video, des verres sans tain pour que le mineur ne soit pas identifié par ses agresseurs etc.   Le nom des mineurs auteurs ou victime ne doit jamais être publié et les audiences se font à huis clos .

Georgie/Georgia: One of the main components of the juvenile criminal justice reform is extensive use of alternatives to prosecution that in essence represents ultimate dismissal (removal, redirection) of juvenile offender from the criminal procedure system. As a result, such approach aims at harmonized development and re-socialization of juveniles in conflict with law.

In this regard, the concept of discretionary prosecution represents a recognized and effective mechanism for the “dismissal” of juveniles from criminal justice system. 

At this moment legislative changes have been prepared and presented to the parliament of Georgia regarding discretionary prosecution under article 28 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia, according to which “the Prosecutor, on the basis of the well-grounded resolution, is authorized not to initiate criminal proceedings or to terminate already launched criminal proceedings due to the absence of public interest thereof.” Under proposed draft, prosecutor can use its discretionary power towards juveniles who have committed grave or less grave crimes and divert them from the criminal proceedings, as in such cases interests of juvenile re-socialization and common liberalization of criminal law policy override public interest of prosecution. The proposal aims to divert such minors to the rehabilitative and preventive activities under the Community Prosecution project piloted in several districts of Georgia (for details see below information).

Lettonie/Latvia: The interrogation of juveniles must be performed according to the provisions provided for by the Criminal Procedure Law and one of functions of the Prosecutor within the preliminary procedure is to supervise complying with the statutory procedure within the preliminary procedure while interrogating the juvenile victims, as, for example, ensuring participation of victim’s representative in the interrogation procedure and complying with other rights of the juvenile. Additionally the Criminal Procedure Law provides for other types of settling of the criminal law relationships, which may be freely selected within the preliminary procedure by the person directing proceedings, including simplified criminal proceedings, as, for example, applying Prosecutor’s injunctions regarding penalty or summary criminal proceedings. Moreover the person directing the proceedings according to the Section 12 of the Criminal Procedure Law has an obligation to manage the criminal procedure, complying with the internationally recognized human rights, and do not admit imposing of unjustified criminal procedural obligations or disproportional intervening into the life of person, restricting the human rights only in such cases when it is required by the interests of public security. As well as Prosecutor is directly involved into determination of the criminal penalty to accused juvenile, expressing an opinion regarding appropriate type and measure of sentence and has rights to lodge appellation protest in cases, if applied type and measure of sentence in the opinion of Prosecutor is not proportional, lawful or grounded.

The Section 65 of the Criminal Law provides for the peculiarities of the criminal liability of the juveniles, namely:

- For a person who has committed a criminal offence before attaining eighteen years of age, the period of deprivation of liberty may not exceed ten years for especially serious crimes; five years – for serious offences, associated with violence or threatened violence or if they have caused serious consequences; two years – for other serious offences. For criminal violations and less serious criminal offences the deprivation of liberty can not be applied to such person. 

- If person has committed the criminal offence till attaining of age of eighteen years, for which the sanction of respective Section of the Special Chapter of this Law provides for a minimal limit of the liberty deprivation, the Court may impose a sentence that is lower than such minimal limit also in cases, if the Court has admitted that the criminal offence was committed in liability aggravating circumstances. 

- A person, who has committed a criminal offence before attaining eighteen years of age, may be conditionally released from punishment before serving the term of the sentence, if he or she has served not less than half of the imposed punishment.

- A fine is applicable only to those minors who have their own income. A fine applied to a minor shall be not less than one and not exceeding fifty times the amount of the minimum monthly wage prescribed in the Republic of Latvia.

- A person, who before attaining eighteen years of age, has committed a criminal violation, shall, after serving the sentence, be deemed to have not been convicted.  

Additionally the juveniles are provided for the restrictions to apply the security measure  – arrest, namely, the Section 273 of the Criminal Law provides for, that juvenile such security measure may be applied for not exceeding of one year, and if juvenile is suspected or accused for the criminal offence committed due to negligence of for commission of the criminal violation,  the arrest can not be imposed, except the case if such person under influence of intoxicating substances has committed the actions in result of which death of another persons occurred. Moreover in case, if accused is suspected or accused for commission of intentional less serious crime, the arrest may be applied only in a case if concerned person has violated provisions of another security or correctional coercive measure (putting into the educational institution of social correction), or has committed the crime being a suspect or accused for commission of serious or especially serious crime.

Moldova: According the duties incumbent to, the prosecutor is entitled to apply special procedures and means to collect testimonies. Thus, for making a complete criminal proceeding prosecutors are entitled to use the witnesses or the injured party testimonies gave in the front of the instruction judge, to apply special rules of the witness and the injured party hearing and his protection.

Thus, under art.109 Code of Criminal Procedure if the witness is not able to appear in court due to his departure abroad or due to other well-founded reasons, then the prosecutor may request that the witness be interviewed by the investigating judge, securing an opportunity for the suspect, accused, defender, injured party and prosecutor to address questions to the witness.

Under the provisions of art.110 Procedure Code if there are reasons to believe that the life, physical integrity or liberty of a witness, or of a close relative to him, are in danger related to the depositions that he makes on a case on a serious, especially serious or exceptionally serious crime, then the investigating judge, or if the case, the court may accept that the witness be interviewed without being physically present before the criminal investigating authority or in the courtroom, given that the appropriate technical devices are available.

            The interview of a witness under the mentioned conditions shall be conducted on the basis of a reasoned court order of the investigating judge, or, if the case, of the court adopted at its own motion or at the reasoned request of the prosecutor, of the witness’s lawyer or of any other interested person.

A witness interviewed in the conditions provided for in this article shall be allowed to disclose information about his identity other than the real one. The information about the real identity of the witness shall be recorded by the investigating judge in a separate report, to be stored in the respective court in a sealed envelope.

According to art.10 of the Law on Prosecutor’s Office the prosecutor may decide, in the course of criminal investigations, on the exemption from criminal liability of the person, who has committed an act which contains elements of a crime, for opportunity reasons, and in accordance with the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code.

            Criminal Code provides two types of sanctions in case when minors committed crimes - penalties and measures of educational constraints.

From category of punishments provided by art.62 of the Criminal Code for individuals, the law does not prohibit the application to the minors the following categories:

- Fine, from 150 to 1000 u. c., and for crimes committed in the material interest - up to 5000 u. c.;

- deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or to practice a certain activity, from 1 to 5 years;

- non-paid work to the benefit of the community, from 60 to 240 hours, from the age of 16 years and runs from 2 to 4 hours per day;

- imprisonment (article 70 CC) when is pronounced the prison sentence for the person who at the moment of committing the offense was under the age of 18 years, the prison term is reduced by half from the maximum penalty provided by the criminal law. In the case of concourse of crimes the final penalty for persons under the age of 18 years shall not exceed 12 years and 6 months, and in the case of cumulative sentence - 15 years.

Life imprisonment does not apply to minors.

The legal framework of the alternatives from the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code, is provided for the prosecution and court stages. Prosecutors that exercise  prosecution in cases concerning minors and represent the accusation in the courts take account of this principle and preferentially apply the rules about: exemption from criminal responsibility, Application of coercion measures of an educational nature  (article 54, 93 , 104 Criminal Code) conditional exemption from liability and criminal punishment (art.59, 91 Criminal Code), conviction with conditional suspension of the execution of the punishment (article 90 Criminal Code); application of non-paid work to the benefit of the community (articles 67 Criminal Code ), reconciliation (article 109 Criminal Code).

Given the special and diverse needs of minors in conflict with the law, in the law conditions (article 54, 59, 93 and 104 Criminal Code), and taking into account the interests of the minor the prosecutor examine all possibilities to release the juvenile offender in the law conditions when he/she committed a minor offense without serious consequences with application of coercive educational measures as: warning; ordering the juvenile to make restitution for the damages caused,  ordering the juvenile to follow a psychological rehabilitation treatment course, interning the juvenile in a special educational and correctional institution or in a medical and correctional institution, suspend the execution of the sentence of imprisonment and other non-custodial measures.

Monaco : S’agissant des mineurs victimes d’infraction, le Parquet Général peut requérir toutes mesures de sauvegarde nécessaires à la préservation de leur intégrité physique ou morale et/ou de leurs intérêts. A cet effet, le Parquet général peut requérir auprès du Juge tutélaire l’ouverture d’une mesure d’assistance éducative avec au besoin un placement en foyer afin de soustraire le mineur à son milieu familial, solliciter la nomination d’un administrateur ad-hoc chargé d’assister la victime dans la procédure judiciaire et de solliciter la désignation d’un avocat au titre de l’assistance judiciaire.  Aucun texte spécifique n’est prévu pour le recueil des témoignages des victimes mineures mais les policiers et juges d’instruction comme la juridiction de jugement peuvent prendre des mesures afin de diminuer le traumatisme pouvant en résulter comme par exemple éviter d’obliger le mineur à témoigner plusieurs fois sans nécessité. Les policiers chargés de recueillir la parole de la victime sont ceux chargés de la protection des mineurs et bénéficient d’une formation à cette fin. Enfin, dans certaines affaires d’attentat aux mœurs, il est en pratique procédé à un enregistrement audiovisuel des témoignages afin d’éviter toute aggravation du traumatisme.

Seuls les mineurs de plus de 13 ans peuvent être incarcérés. Si, en cas de récidive, les peines encourues sont plus lourdes, la juridiction n’est jamais dans l’obligation de prononcer la peine la plus lourde dans la mesure où le prévenu peut se voir octroyer des circonstances atténuantes permettant de prononcer une peine inférieure à la peine minimale prévue par les textes. Les mineurs ne peuvent, en matière de crime, être condamnés à une peine supérieure à vingt ans d’emprisonnement, et à une peine supérieure à la moitié de celle encourue par les majeurs en matière délictuelle. Des mesures alternatives aux poursuites peuvent être mises en œuvre, même en cas de récidive, en l’absence de constitution de partie-civile de la victime.

Allemagne/Germany : In General, in cases with young victims juvenile prosecutors should be involved in the investigations from the very beginning. They are responsible for a confidential atmosphere during the hearing. They must take care of the presence of a lawyer and of the parents or custodians both of the victim and of the offender, if this is appropriate to avoid a repetition of investigative measures. They should seek for speeding the investigations and the court proceedings. They may initiate or chose educational alternatives to prosecution to a broad extent. At a very early stage of the investigation, prosecutors have to involve social workers to find out the family background and the situation of the young offender. To avoid pre-trial detention of juvenile offenders, prosecutors should initiate alternatives like special closed homes for jeopardised young people. 

Montenegro: - According to the Article 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code “for criminal offences punishable by imprisonment for a maximum term not exceeding five years or a fine, the State Prosecutor may decide not to request the institution of the criminal proceedings if he finds that it would not be purposeful to conduct the criminal proceedings, taking into account the nature of the criminal offence, circumstances under which it has been committed and personal characteristics of the minor.”

Moreover, in in accordance with the Article 482b of the Criminal Procedure Code the State Prosecutors may dismiss criminal complaint or, on a motion of the State Prosecutors, the Court may discontinue criminal proceeding of imposing criminal sanction against a minor and impose one of a diversion orders.

Juvenile prison sentence may be imposed solely on an elder juvenile (16-18 years) who has committed criminal offence for which a penalty of imprisonment exceeding five years as prescribed by law.

According to the provisions of the Criminal Code juvenile imprisonment shall not be less than six months or exceed eight years. Exceptionally, for offences prescribed for which as a mildest penalty measure is a prison penalty of ten years, juvenile imprisonment up to ten years may be pronounced.

New Law on Juvenile Justice introduce new provisions under which juvenile imprisonment can last between six months and five years, or exceptionally ten years for criminal offences for which a minimal possible extent prescribed by law is a penalty of imprisonment for ten years.

Republic of Macedonia/République de Macédoine: Juvenile victim may be interviewed as a witness only if it is not detrimental effect on his psychophysical development. Juvenile may be interviewed more than twice if so requires special circumstances of the case. On hearing the juvenile as a witness or injured party, the court is obliged to take care of the personal characteristics of the juvenile, to protect its interests and its proper development. Hearings of the juvenile, depending on its age and development and is done in the presence of a psychologist, teacher or other professional person. If determined that it is necessary, given the characteristics of offense and the personality characteristics of the juvenile, the judge will order the hearing through the use of technical means for the transmission of picture and sound. Hearings are conducted without the presence of the parties and other participants in proceedings in a separate room and the questions are posed through the pedagogue, psychologist or other expert. The Public Prosecutor shall act under the law, but if the prosecutor does not request for the initiation proceedings against the juvenile, will inform the injured party. Apart from initiating cancellation proceedings, the prosecutor may within 15 days to decide not to require initiation of proceedings, although there is evidence that the juvenile has committed the offense, if he thinks it would not be necessary to run a procedure in view of the nature of the offense and the circumstances under which it is done, the former life of the juvenile and his personality. The Public Prosecutor may decide not to require initiation of proceedings for another crime of the juvenile, if given the gravity of the crime and the punishment or sanction what is done, it would have to conduct the proceedings and hearing of sanction for this action. Public Prosecutor may submit an application before the initiation of the preparatory process, may propose to the older juvenile, his attorney and family to implement a special procedure for the recognition of responsibility and settlement of the amount of punishment. Such a proposal the Public Prosecutor may lodge in cases where available evidence strongly suggests that the juvenile is perpetrator of a crime, that is responsible for done and that the conditions for penalty hearing are fulfilled. In settlement procedure the Public Prosecutor shall collect from the Center all required reports and other documents for the person of the juvenile and will ensure compliance by the injured party. If the injured party agrees with the proposal, the Public Prosecutor calls for public settlement juvenile, his agent, the center and the injured party. If they agree on settlement, there is drawn agreement that is signed by all present participants. The Public Prosecutor shall submit the agreement to the Council of juvenile who mayaccept the agreement and decide to reach a verdictwhich will pronounce proposed penalty, against which the appeal is not allowed. If the court does not accept the agreement he will return the matter to the Public Prosecutor who is obliged to submit an application for initiation of preparatory proceedings. The Public Prosecutor should not be calling the data and statements made in a settlement procedure.

Hongrie: 4a/ Minors, often becoming suffering victims of offences due to their exposure and helplessness, deserve special attention in the course of a criminal procedure.

The main task of the acting organs during the disclosure of offences against minors or the abuse of minors is to protect the minor from psychological injuries, inevitable when taking part in a procedure and giving testimony. Minors are only to be involved in criminal procedures if their testimony can provide otherwise inaccessible evidence.

The hearing of adolescents as injured party is mainly conducted by psychologists or appointed custodians. This procedure enables the psychologist to give attest, whether the statement is based on personal experience, whether it can be considered true, and also to what extent the child is psychologically impaired.

In case it seems necessary, authorities (law enforcement agencies, prosecution service, court and court of guardians) are entitled to remove the minor injured party from their endangering environment and place them in a care institution, where their physical and mental damages can be cured.

The prosecutor can act on behalf of minors in a criminal proceeding as follows:

4/b The aim of the criminal sanctions enforced against juveniles is to facilitate their proper improvement. This means that when proposing a certain punishment or measure to be taken against the juvenile delinquent, the prosecutor – bearing in mind the general objectives – has to examine with particular care, whether the implemented sanctions are to facilitate the proper improvement of the juvenile at the same time.

Imprisonment, being the most serious sanction, is to be implemented against a juvenile only in the last resort. Sentence to enforced imprisonment can only be necessary against juveniles having committed serious crimes, and a different punishment or confinement in a reformatory does not seem to effectuate the particular aims of punishments, set for juveniles.

Law has provided for the period of imprisonment to be imposed on juvenile delinquents different from adults. In case of every offence the statutory minimum of punishment is one month.

The maximum of punishment in case of a juvenile being over 16 at the time of the committal of the crime punishable by life imprisonment is 15 years; crimes punishable by ten and above years of imprisonment shall be punishable by up to 10 years of imprisonment. For juveniles under 16, in case of committal of a crime punishable by life imprisonment, the maximum punishment is 10 years. In any other cases, where the maximum punishment is more than 5 years, juveniles cannot be sentenced to more than 5 years.

4/c The need for waiving of court proceedings and implementation of alternative divertive legal institutions concerning impeachment of juvenile delinquents derives from international agreements on children’s rights and the desire to meet the exigencies of the time.

In case of juvenile delinquents with regard to the peculiarities of adolescence it is essential to conduct expeditious criminal proceedings. This is why prosecutors, when applicable, motion the employment of legal institutions facilitating the acceleration of procedure.

If legal conditions exist the prosecutor may postpone bringing charges against the juvenile delinquent if the postponement will have an advantageous impact on the offender’s behaviour or he can refer the case to a mediatory procedure if the procedure can be avoided.

Liechtenstein: See also reply to 7.

The investigating magistrate may examine young witnesses who are the victims of crimes in a special way provided by law. For these hearings especially equipped court-rooms - designed to make the child feel more at ease - are used. At the actual hearing only the judge and an expert( e.g. psychologists, infantile neuropsychiatries etc.) are present. The public prosecutor and the defense watch the hearing in a different room by video-conference. The may ask questions only via the judge or the expert. The child does not have to testify in front of the defendant. These methods are always used with children who are victim of sexual abuse.

There is also a specialized criminal investigation unit within the police. In minor cases the public prosecutor may drop the case. He may also impose a period of probation for the young offender or ask the court to suspend imposing a sanction after conviction for a period of probation for up to three years. The positive result of the probation extinguishes the criminal offence.

One possibility in minor cases against youth offenders is to impose a fine or - as already mentioned - to drop the charges.

These measures can only be imposed if the offender has admitted his responsibility. Furthermore, these sanctions as a general rule cannot be used in cases concerning violent crime e.g. assault, robbery.

Sometimes a decision to drop the charges will be conditioned by the offender signing a contract in which he or she commits to paying compensation to the victim and working some time for the community. This type of sanction is directed at young offenders who have not yet displayed a more permanent crime pattern and who are convicted of minor crimes, such as theft or property damage.

The youth contract is drafted by the social services in cooperation with the offender and his or hers parents and has to be approved by the prosecution and/ or the court. In such cases suspended sentences are also used, sometimes conditioned by community service.

Serbie: There are always the alternatives. The juvenile prison is not obligatory.

Iceland : In Iceland the Director of Public Prosecutions has issued rules nr. 9/2009 (on case procedures against children under the age of 15) concerning the questioning/interviewing of a child under the age of 15. Article 2 states the following:

“A child under the age of 15 may be questioned.

The child protection committee must be notified of a pending interview in order to enable the committee have its representative present. If waiting for the representative of the child protection committee causes a risk of affecting the investigation of a case, the questioning may begin in his/her absence; cf. Article 61 of the Act on Criminal Procedure and Article 18 of the Child Protection Act.

The police shall furthermore notify the parent or guardian, who may be present during the questioning, unless the child's interests or investigative interests prevent this, cf. Articles 1 and 6 of Regulation no. 651/2009 on the legal status of apprehended persons, interrogations by the police, etc.

Utmost consideration shall be exercised when questioning a child. The questioning shall take place in suitable circumstances; cf. Article 6 of the same regulation.

A report on the questioning shall be prepared as prevails, cf. Article 66 of the Act on Criminal Procedure, however, having the child sign the report is not deemed as necessary. The questioning may be sound recorded or video taped. This might be desirable when questioning takes place without the presence of a representative of a child protection committee, a parent or guardian.

It is desirable that the questioning is in the form of an interview where the child is asked to tell the truth, however, it must be kept in mind that children do not have the actual status of a suspect, cf. Article 64, paragraph 2, of the Act on Criminal Procedure.

Upon the end of the questioning, it is desirable that the parents/guardian is informed of the police intervention being over and that the case of the child is under procedure by the child protection authorities.”

If an investigation pertains to violation cf. Section XXII of the General Penal Code (Sexual Offences) and the victim has not reached the age of 15 when the investigation is launched, questioning of a victim takes place in court. This is  according to Article 59, section a, of the Act number 88 2008 on Criminal Procedure.  According  Article 111, section 2, a judge can use this questioning as an evidence if criminal charges will be made later on, which means that the child do not have to be questioned again in court.

According to Article 61 of Act number 88 2008 on Criminal Procedure if an accused has not been apprehended, the police shall summon him/her for questioning and he/she is obligated to act on such summons. If an accused person under the age of 18 is to be questioned regarding an alleged violation of the General Penal Code or violations of other law, which could result in more severe penalty than two years imprisonment, the Child Protection Committee shall be notified and may have a representative present during the questioning.

If a juvenile confesses to an offence, a prosecutor may suspend the issue of an indictment on account of that offenca for a specified period. The conditions are listed in Article 56 of the General Penal Code No. 19, February 12, 1940 and read as follows:

1. On account of offences committed by young persons of the age of 15 - 21 years.

2. When the situation of the offender is such that supervision or other measures under para. 3, Art. 57, may be considered more likely to have more durable result than a penalty, provided the offence is not such as to necessitate prosecution with a view to public interest.

The period of conditional suspension may not be shorter than 1 year and no longer than 5 years. Generally this period shall be laid down as 2 - 3 years. [The Prosecutor] 1) shall, in each case, specify the point in time at which the period of suspension commences.

When indictment is suspended, the conditions provided for in para. 3, Art. 57, may be laid down as deemed suitable. The conditions may be altered during the period of suspension, including by an extension of the period, however no longer than a total of 5 years.

[The Case of a person may be resumed if police investigation commences against him/her as a suspect prior to the end of the period of suspension on account of a new offence committed during the period of suspension or before a Case was suspended and also if he/she fails to a significant effect to heed the conditions laid down.] 2)

When [an investigator] 3) considers that indictment may be suspended under this Article he/she shall refer the matter to [the Prosecutor] 1) with his/her proposals.

In case the issue of indictment is suspended in accordance with the provisions of this Article [the Prosecutor] 1) shall meticulously explain the conditions to the offender and clarify for him/her the consequences of a failure to heed these.] 4)”

Prosecution can also be dropped according to Article 146 of Act number 88 2008 on Criminal Procedure. But the article is generally used, not only for young offenders. The conditions are if an accused person accepts or is subjected to a decision on penalty according to Section XXIII, cf. however, Article 148, paragraph 3, and Article 149, paragraph 4. Prosecution may be dropped with suspended postponement of indictment according to the General Penal Code.

The Director of Public Prosecutions has also issued special instructions no. 8/2009 regarding the procedure of cases involving theft at stores, containing rules pertaining to when the accused is at the age of 15-17 when the offence is committed and the individual has confessed. In the first instance, prosecution is dropped, indictment shall be postponed for two years in the second instance, the third instance results in a fine, and in an indictment in the fourth instance.

Albania/Albanie: There is no specific provision in the CPC on how the minor crime victims make their declaration during the investigation process. Article 361 of CPC deals only with cases of testimony collected during the hearings. It is interesting that according to this article, it is considered only as a right and not as a duty of the Court do decide cross-examining the minor witnesses in the presence of their parents or a psychiatrist or to bar the parts in proceedings addressing questions to them directly  if not through the court.

Initiation of criminal action. According to article 58 of CPC a minor crime victims with no juridical capacity can initiate criminal action for minor crimes only through a legal representative. Even the withdrawal from the criminal action, according to article 245 of CPC, can be done only through their legal representative, it means through parents or appointed legal representatives.

Execution of penalty. According to article 51 of the CPC in case of minor crimes and when minor defendant shows self reflection, the Court has the right to order to dismiss the penalty.

Place of serving the penalty. According to the Law on the rights of the sentenced people, the minor defendants serve the sentence only to specialized institution of imprisonment for minor defendants.

5.    Quel est le rôle spécifique du procureur dans la détention avant le jugement, lors des audiences et lors de la détention après la condamnation, lorsqu'il s'agit de mineurs ?

What is the specific role of public prosecutors in custody before a court hearing, during the hearing  and in the detention after conviction, in cases involving juveniles?

Belgique/ Belgique : Ils n’ont pas de rôle spécifique, c’est le juge qui prend les décisions relatives à la détention.

Croatia/ Croatie : State attorney may, in cases where a juvenile perpetrator had been brought before an investigating judge, request his/her detention (which may last for 24 hours) if there are grounds for suspicion that a juvenile committed a criminal offence burdening him/her and if reasons from Article 102, paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Criminal Procedure Act exist – grounds for ordering detention, i.e. in the request for initiation of preliminary proceedings suggest ordering detention from the above-mentioned reasons. Detention may only be applied as a final measure, in proportion to severity of the criminal offence and anticipated sanctions, in the shortest duration and only if its purpose cannot be achieved by applying precautionary measure (Article 90 of the Criminal Procedure Act) or temporary accommodation (Article 72 of the Law on Juvenile Courts). In the course of preliminary proceeding a juvenile may be placed under custody of Social Service so as to receive assistance and protection or he/she may temporarily be place into Social Service institution, when it corresponds with anticipated sanction and with the aim of protecting a juvenile from further endangerment of his/her development, especially from temptation of repeating the criminal offence. Overall duration of detention during preliminary proceeding is three months. During detention a juvenile must be enabled to work and under circumstances receive education useful for his/her upbringing and vocation. As a rule, a juvenile is separated from adults while in detention, rarely is placed with adults and only if isolation of juvenile lasts longer period of time and placing him/her with an adult would not have a damaging effect. Duration of detention from submitting proposal for pronouncing sanction to final judgement must not be longer that half of the time period prescribed by article 109 paragraph 1 of the Criminal Procedure Act. This provision states the longest duration of detention before a first-instance judgment is passed. Detention is determined in months, and years in relation to upper limit of the prescribed prison sentence.

Denmark/ Danemark: The prosecutor will before a court hearing consider whether or not to ask for detention on remand and if the circumstances of the case necessitates detention on remand, the prosecution will before the court hearing seek to ensure that a secured youth institution can receive the accused, should the court decide that the conditions for detention on remand are fulfilled. Please see the answer to question 1.

When detention on remand after conviction is considered necessary, the prosecutor will in his final address to the court, ask the court to decide on the issue. In such a case the prosecutor ensures that police can escort the accused to an institution after the verdict. Furthermore the prosecutor will in some cases be involved in the prison service’s considerations concerning which institution the convicted youth should be moved to after the sentence.

15-17 year old children are only sentenced to imprisonment in serious cases or in case of repeat offences. In most cases one of the special youth sanctions will be imposed.

One possibility in minor cases against youth offenders is to impose a fine or to drop the indictment. These sanctions can only be imposed if the offender has admitted his guilt. Furthermore, these sanctions as a general rule cannot be used in cases concerning violent crime e.g. assault, robbery.

Sometimes a decision to drop the indictment will be conditioned by the offender signing a contract (a youth contract) in which he or she commits to e.g. returning to school, participating in sports, or paying compensation to the victim. This type of sanction is directed at young offenders who have not yet displayed a more permanent crime pattern and who are convicted of minor economical crime, such as theft and property damage.

The youth contract is drafted by the social services in cooperation with the offender and his or hers parents and has to be approved by the police/prosecution and the court.

In cases against offenders who are 15-17 years old suspended sentences are also used, sometimes conditioned by community service.

Finally, the so called “youth sanction” is used in more serious cases. This sanction is only used in connection with serious crime such as assault, robbery and rape, if the offence – If the offender had been 18 years or older – would have resulted in a sentence of between 30 days and 1 year of imprisonment. The youth sanction is only applied to offenders, who commit crime of a particular violent nature and who have displayed violent behavior due to e.g. lack of ability to adapt and create normal social relations.

The youth sanction lasts two years and the main content of the sanction is longterm social pedagogical treatment. During the first stage of the sanction the youth will be placed in a secured institution for a month or two in order to determine what kind of treatment is necessary. During the second stage of the sanction the youth will be placed in an open institution, where the youth e.g. can be treated for alcohol or drug abuse or receive other types of treatment or support. This stage of the sanction usually lasts about a year. During the third and last stage of the sanction the youth can stay at home, but is still supervised and followed by the social services.

Spain/ Espagne: Public prosecutors have a very important role to ensure legal rights and safeguards of the juveniles, especially when there is a measure of deprivation of liberty. Police has to notify any detention of a juvenile to the Public Prosecutor, who can order the release of the suspect or can decide to promote a pre trail measure before the Court, depending on the circumstances concerning the alleged crime and .the circumstances of the presumed perpetrator.

Pre trial custody has strict temporary limits and Public Prosecutors must control it.

On regards of detention after conviction, Public Prosecutors must carry periodical inspections to detention centres. They also must evaluate the periodical reports elaborated by multidisciplinary teams in order to promote, to reduce, cancel or modify the sanction of deprivation of liberty, if it is on the minor´s best interest,

Estonia/ Estonie : A prosecutor applies with a judge for the arrest of a minor, but preventive custody is applied to minors only in exceptional cases. The prosecutor involves in the proceedings concerning arrest a pedagogue or a psychologist and a doctor, who have the opportunity to express their opinion about the deprivation of liberty of the minor in the course of the proceedings either in writing or orally.

Finland/ Finlande: The normal official duties of a public prosecutor basically apply in a pre-trial investigation and main hearing concerning juveniles. These include observing the special provisions governing juveniles (see item 1 above) and ensuring that the juvenile is treated according to legislation.

Greece/ Grèce: The Minors Public Prosecutor exercises penal prosecution against minor offenders, as mentioned above. Especially for minor offenders, flagrant crimes procedure provided for in articles 417 and subs. of Code of Penal Procedure, that is apprehension and direct (within 24 hours) referral to trial is never applied, because although there does not exist an explicit law disposition that prohibits its application, this direct and accelerated procedure of crimes trial does not correspond to the need of individualised treatment and the obligation of special study of the personality of minor offenders by Minors Supervisors.

            During investigation, Public Prosecutor suggests (proposes) to the Investigator the temporary or not detention of the accused minor. According to the disposition of article 282 par.5 of Code of Penal Procedure, as replaced by article 4 par.5 of Law 3189/2003 (Official gazette A’243/21.10.2003), temporary detention of a minor is permitted, upon accord opinion of Minors’ Investigator and Public Prosecutor, only if: a. the minor is accused for the perpetration of a criminal action for which a penalty of imprisonment of at least ten (10) years would be imposed to an adult and b. the minor has completed the thirteenth year of age. The inability of the minor to pay the pecuniary guarantee which may have been imposed to him/her, is not permitted to lead to his/her temporary detention by itself, that is if it is not accompanied by the infringement of some other restrictive condition by the minor, as for example his/her obligation to present him/herself in the police office or the prohibition of his/her exit from the country, in order to avoid the antipedagogical practice of imposing temporary detention to minors who do not have the financial ability to pay a pecuniary guarantee. Finally, after receiving the minor’s defence, it is possible, instead of imposing the restrictive conditions that indicatively are mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 282 of Code of Penal Procedure, which are imposed to accused adults until the definitive hearing of the charges filed against them and intend to securing their presence in the investigation or the court and their subjection to the execution of the penalty, to impose to the minor one or more of the penitentiary measures mentioned in article 122 Penal Code, that is the assignment of their custody to minors supervisors, the attendance of a social or psychological programme in state, municipal or private agents, their attendance of professional or other educational or formational schools, etc.

            During the main procedure, he/she participates in the court, presenting questions and proposing to the judges the penitentiary or remedial measure or the penalty (Confinement in a Special Detention Establishment) which should be imposed to the minor.

Minors Public Prosecutor competencies

after pronouncement of judgements

            According to the disposition of article 549 par.5 of Code of Penal Procedure, as this was added by the disposition of article 4 par.6 of Law 3189/2003, the locally competent Minors Public Prosecutor takes ex officio care for the execution of the Minors Courts resolutions as well as for the application of the penitentiary or remedial measures imposed to the minor offenders and their confinement in Special Juvenile Detention Establishments. According to the disposition of article 572 of Code of Penal Procedure, the locally competent Minors Public Prosecutor is the Supervisor of the Special Juvenile Detention Establishment where the minor prisoners serve the sentence of confinement in Special Juvenile Detention Establishments imposed to them by Minors Courts and visits it at least once per week, when he accepts to hearing the prisoners who wish to see him and listens to their requests. Beyond all these, in the two Special Juvenile Detention Establishments operating in our country, in Avlona Attica and in Volos, according to disposition of article 12 Law 2776/1999 “Correctional Code” (Official Gazette A’291/24.12.1999) all “juvenile prisoners” are detained, that is “prisoners who are of 13 years to 21 years old” and exceptionally may remain in these up to completion of 25th year of age, if this is deemed necessary, in order to complete the educational or professional programmes they attend within that particular detention establishment. The women minor prisoners remain in a separate wing of the Women Detention Establishment of Elaionas, Thoeves.

Italy/ Italie: After a provisional arrest by the police, the public prosecutor can question the young accused person also before the judge’s interrogation and can release him/her from prison. Nevertheless a hearing must by held by the judge before 96 hours from the arrest.

After a conviction, the public prosecution office is competent for the execution of the sentence and expresses its advice on every request presented by the offender to the judge.

Netherlands/ Pays-Bas: This role is no different from that played in cases involving adults: the public prosecutor prepares the case, issues a summons or opts for a different form of disposal (see answer to question 4). During the hearing he argues his case, formulates his demand and at the end of proceedings is responsible for the enforcement of any penalty or non-punitive order imposed by the court.

Poland/ Pologne: During a proceedings in the case of juvenile prosecutor is an ordinary party. May therefore participate in the hearing,  speak about each activity and evidence and appeal against the court’s decisions. Prosecutor has no decision-making powers in this area. As an ordinary party of the proceedings, prosecutor has the right to appeal against decisions made by a family judge.

In cases, when juvenile is subjected to the criminal responsibility (situation defined in the Article 10 of the Penal Code), the proceedings is conducted according to the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the enforcement of the sentenced penalty is conducted under the Executive Penal Code. A convicted juvenile is settled in prison for young offenders.  Then, a penitentiary judge oversees the implementation of the penalty. In the criminal enforcement proceedings prosecutor do not have any supervisory or decision-making powers, prosecutor in this area is an ordinary party and may therefore, make a complaint against the order issued in the course of proceedings.

Slovak Republic/ République Slovaque: A juvenile offender (unlike an adult offender) may be taken into pre-trial custody (detention) as a last resort only on condition that the purpose of the pre-trial custody (rehabilitation) cannot be achieved in any other way and if there are no other less-restrictive alternatives. Most often, the intended purpose of the pre-trial custody can be achieved if • a reliable person gives a guarantee of the juvenile offender´s rehabilitation and prevention of his criminal behaviour • a juvenile offender himself gives a guarantee or assurance of his rehabilitation and prevention of his criminal behaviour • certain restrictions are imposed on the juvenile offender • the juvenile offender is supervised by a probation and mediation officer or • the juvenile offender is imposed a financial penalty as a sentencing option. The prosecutor (similarly as other law enforcement agencies at the pre-trial stage and courts at the trial stage) is at each stage of criminal proceedings obliged to carefully consider whether the purpose of the pre-trial custody cannot be achieved in any other way.

There is a general principle that applies to the criminal proceedings involving juvenile offenders: custody (detention) cases involving juvenile offenders must urge a speedy and firm action of the law enforcement agencies (the police or prosecutors). The prosecutor is at every stage of criminal proceedings, which involve juvenile offenders, obliged to take due account of and promote and strengthen protection of juvenile offenders.

Custodial sentences imposed on juvenile offenders below the age of 18 are served in juvenile correctional facilities.

Romania/ Roumanie: According to art. 481 of the Criminal Procedure Code, “When the accused or defendant is a minor under 16 years of age, for any hearing or confrontation of the minor, if the criminal investigation authorities consider necessary, they will summon the Service for the protection of victims and social reintegration of offenders from the domicile of the minor, as well as the parents, and, if the case, the tutor, the curator or the person under whose care or supervision the minor finds himself.

The summoning of the persons stipulated under the previous paragraph is compulsory when presenting the criminal investigation materials.

Non-attendance of the persons legally summoned to the accomplishment of the acts mentioned under par. 1 and 2 does not hinder their accomplishment.”

Also, under art. 484, “Judgment of the case concerning an offense committed by a minor shall be done in his/her presence, except for the situation in which the minor eluded the judgment.

When judging the case, the authorities summon, beside the Service for the protection of victims and social reintegration of offenders from the domicile of offenders, his/her parents or, according to the case, the tutor, curator, the person in whose care or under whose supervision the minor is, as well as other persons whose presence is deemed as necessary by the court.

The persons mentioned in the previous paragraph have the right and the duty to give clarifications, formulate requests and present proposals as for the measures to be adopted.

Non-attendance of the persons legally summoned does not impede the judgment of the case.”

a) While in custody before a court hearing, it is in the prosecutor’s duties to hear the minor and to ensure him all the other procedural rights (article 143-144, 160e -160  of the Criminal Procedure Code).

The custody measure may be taken by the prosecutor against the defendant, only after he was heard in the presence of a defender, if there are sufficient evidence and grounded indications that he committed a deed foreseen by the criminal law.

The prosecutor shall inform the defendant that he has the right to hire a defender. He is also informed of his right to silence, being informed that anything he states can be used against him.

The custody measure can be applied in the cases provided by article 148 of the Criminal Procedure Code, as well as in case of flagrante delicto, no matter the limits of the punishment stipulated by the law.

Exceptionally, the minor between 14 and 16 years old, that is criminally liable, can be retained into custody at the prosecutor’s order or at the criminal investigation body’s order, with the notification and under the control of the prosecutor, over a period that cannot exceed 10 hours, if there are certain information that the minor has committed an offence punished by the law with life detention or imprisonment for 10 years or more.

The custody can be prolonged with another 10 hours at most, only if is necessary by a motivated ordinance of the prosecutor.

When establishing the provisions applicable regarding the custody measure and preventive detention, the age of the defendant is taken into account at the date when the enforcement, prolongation and maintenance of the preventive measure is ordered.

Beside the rights provided by the law for the preventive detainees exceeding 18 years old, certain rights are ensured to minors in custody or in preventive detention.

In all cases,mandatory legal assistance is ensured to minor defendants in custody or in preventive detention, the judicial bodies are compelled to take measures for the designation of an ex officio defender, if the minor did not choose one and so that he can take direct contact with the minor arrested and to communicate with him.

Whenever the custody or the preventive detention of a defendant or of a minor defendant is ordered, the parents, the legal guardian, the person in whose care or supervision the minor is under, other persons designated by him are immediately informed about it, in case of custody and in case of arrest in a period of 24 hours, and in the case of arrest the service for social reintegration of the offenders and observation of the execution of non-custodial sanctions attached to the instance that shall try the case in the first instance, shall also be informed, this fact being consigned in a report.

During the custody or the preventive detention, the minors are kept separately, in places specially allocated for the minors under preventive detention.

b) During the hearing before the judge, the prosecutor’s duties do not differ very much in comparison with the common procedure, he can address questions through the president, he can draw up requests and lay down conclusions.

c) During detention, after conviction, the prosecutor does not have any duties de lege lata.

The observance of the rights and the special statute foreseen by law for the minors in custody or in preventive detention shall be ensured through the scrutiny of a judge, specially designated by the court’s president, through the visitation by the prosecutor of the places for preventive detention, as well as through the scrutiny of other bodies entitled by law to visit the preventive detainees (article 160f paragraph 5 of the Criminal Procedure Code).

According to article 6 paragraph 1 of the Law No.275/2006 on the execution of the punishments and of the measures order by the judicial bodies during the criminal trial, the execution of the punishments shall be carried on under the observation, control and authority of the deputy judge.

Slovenia/ Slovénie: We have special limits for the custody of juveniles. During the pre-trial procedure, the maximum limit for the custody of juveniles is 3 months. There are also other regulations about custody of juveniles, for example provision that juvenile shall be held in custody separately from adults. Custody for juveniles is more or less exceptional measure in our criminal system.

Sweden/ Suède: The juveniles are very seldom detained as there is a specific rule saying that the juveniles should not be deprived of their freedom. The normal way to prevent them from destroying the investigation or commit other crimes is to hand over them to the social agencies.

Turkey/ Turquie: (1) Protective and supportive court decisions regarding juveniles can be taken by the juvenile judge either ex officio  or upon the request of the Public prosecutor beside some other authorities.

Aside from rendering decisions for protective and supportive measures regarding juveniles that are in need of protection, the court shall also have the authority to decide with regard to custody, guardianship, warship, caretaker, trustee, alimony and personal contact, in accordance with the provisions of the Turkish Civil Code dated 22.11.2001 and numbered 4721. (Article 7 of Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395) )

The judge or the court may, ex officio  or upon the request of the  Public prosecutor, examine the results of the measure being implemented with regard to the juvenile, and abrogate, extend or change the measure. (article 8 of Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395) )

Investigations related to juveniles pushed to crime shall be carried out personally by the Public prosecutor assigned at the juvenile bureau.

During interrogation and other procedures related to the juvenile, the juvenile may be accompanied by a social worker.

When considers necessary during investigation, the Public prosecutor may file a request to the juvenile judge for a protective and supportive measure regarding the juvenile. ( Article 15 Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395)  )

Protective and supportive court decisions regarding juveniles can be taken by the juvenile judge either ex officio  or upon the request of the juvenile’s father, mother, guardian, the person responsible for the care and supervision of the juvenile, the Social Services and Child Protection Agency or the Public prosecutor.( Article 7 of Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395)

- The public prosecutor has according the article 17 of the law on the Establishing, Duties and Competences of Courts of First Instance and Regional Courts within the Ordinary Judiciary  (Law Nr. 5235)  the obligation to  investigate  for  deciding   about  if there is a need to start a public trial or not ,  to follow up  the prosecutions on behalf of the public, to attend them and if necessary  appeal, parallel to the rules set up in laws and   the obligation to perform the related procedures for the execution of the court decisions and and  to perform the juridical and administrative tasks given by laws  as it was mentioned above.

Article 20 of the Law on Execution of Penalties and Security Measures. (Law No.5275) gives special tasks to the public prosecutor:

·                     A finalised judgement containing a prison sentence shall be forwarded by the court to the Office of Chief Public Prosecutor, clearly indicating the identity of the convict and the nature of the sentence.

·                     A call or an apprehension order shall be issued for the convict, considering the length of the prison sentence specified in the judgement, which the Office of Chief Public Prosecutor shall record in the execution book.

·                     The call shall be notified at the address indicated in the judgement. The convict must inform any change of address to the court or the Office of Chief Public Prosecutor. Otherwise, the notification made at the address specified in the judgement shall be effective.

·                     The convict shall be given a document issued by the Office of Chief Public Prosecutor indicating the date of his admission into the penal execution institution, the scheduled date of his release, the length of his prison sentence, and the legal provision under which the sentence has been imposed.

The main control of penal execution institutions  are the duty of the public prosecutors. If the penal institution has a particular  immensity a special  prosecutor could be selected by the Chief Public Prosecutor  for the task.

The law establishes in Article 11 closed penal execution institutions for minors:

These are institutions based on education and training where minor remand prisoners or minors who are decided to be transferred from reformatories to closed penal execution institutions for disciplinary or other reasons are accommodated, which are equipped with barriers against escape, and which have internal and external security personnel.

·                     Minors in the age group of 12 to 18 shall be kept in separate parts of these institutions in view of their gender and physical development.

·                     Where there are no special institutions for them, these convicts shall be placed in those parts of closed penal execution institutions which are allocated for minors. Where separate parts do not exist, girls shall be accommodated in one part of closed penal execution institutions for women or in such parts of other penal execution institutions as are allocated for them.

·                     In these institutions, the principle of providing minors with education and training shall be implemented in full.

Gerekçe

The law establishes in Article 1 2 , closed penal execution institutions for minors and young convicts:

·                     Juvenile closed penal execution institutions are institutions in which young convicts who are aged 18 to 21 as of the date of beginning to execute the sentence serve their sentences, which are based on the principle of education and training, which are equipped with barriers against escape, and which have internal and external security personnel.

·                     Where no separate institutions can be established for these convicts, they shall beaccommodated, in accordance with the principles laid down in this article, in those partsof other closed penal execution institutions which are allocated for juveniles.

The prison sentences of those juveniles who are covered by Article 9 (Persons sentenced to

imprisonment for establishing or leading a criminal organisation or, in the framework of

the activities of such an organisation: Crimes against humanity (Articles 77 and 78 of the Turkish Criminal Code); Murder (Articles 81 and 82 thereof); Production of and trafficking in drugs (Article 188 thereof); Crimes against the security of the State (Articles 302, 303, 304, 307 and 308 thereof); ore Crimes against constitutional order and its operation (Articles 309 to 315 thereof regardless of the length of such sentence, shall serve their sentences in these institutions)  hereof shall be executed in the high-security parts of juvenile closed penal execution institutions

The Article 15 of the law regulates the reformatories for minors .

·                     Reformatories for minors are facilities where prison sentences against minors are executed by pursuing the objectives of educating the convicted minors, teaching them a trade and achieving their social reintegration. In these institutions, there shall be no barriers against escape; their security shall be provided under the supervision and responsibility of internal security personnel.

·                      Minors attending any education and training programme within or outside the institution may be allowed to stay in these facilities after they complete the age of eighteen, until they are twenty-one years of age, so that they may complete their education and training.

·                     Convicted minors who are kept in these institutions, excluding those against whom a remand order has been made and those who fall within the scope of Article 11 hereof, shall not be sent to closed penal execution institutions.

The article 14 of the law establishes the open penal execution institutions

Open penal execution institutions are institutions where priority is given to employment and vocational training of convicts in their rehabilitation, which have no barriers against escape and no external security personnel, and where supervision and control by institution personnel is considered sufficient for security.

According to the need, open penal execution institutions may also be established in the form of:

a) Open penal execution institutions for women; and

b) Open penal execution institutions for juveniles.

The sentences against those who have committed an offence for the first time or who are convicted to imprisonment for two years or less may be executed directly in open penal execution institutions.

Of convicts who are in an open penal execution institution, those who have received a disciplinary penalty other than a reprimand, those against whom a remand order has been made for a criminal act other than the one of which they have been convicted, those who are being investigated or prosecuted for another offence where the upper limit of the legally prescribed sentence is not less than seven years, and those whom it is determined would not be able to adapt to the working conditions with regard to age, health condition or physical or mental abilities, shall be sent back to closed penal execution institutions by a decision of the institution’s administrative board. The said decision shall be submitted to the execution judge for approval.

Detained juveniles shall be kept at the juvenile unit of the law enforcement.

In cases where the law enforcement does not have a juvenile unit, the juveniles shall be kept separate from detained adults. (Article 16 of Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395) 

Chains, handcuffs and similar tools cannot be put on juveniles. However, when necessary, the law enforcement may take necessary measures to prevent the juvenile from escaping, or to prevent dangers that may arise with regard to the life and physical integrity of the juvenile or others. (article 18 of  Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395) )

England and Wales/ Angleterre et pays de Galle: The prosecutor will give pre charge advice to the police and this will include advice on whether to release a youth on bail and the appropriate conditions, or whether the youth should not be released but brought to court in custody to ask the court to refuse bail.

At court, the youth prosecutor will speak to the youth offending team and the youth’s solicitor, to explain the prosecutions objections to bail. This will enable the youth offending team to put together a package of conditions and interventions that will address and alleviate the prosecutor’s objections. This package may include conditions that the youth lives at a specified address, is electronically tagged to ensure that he abides by a curfew and stays at home between certain hours, and engages in intensive supervision and activities of up to 5 hours a day with the youth offending team.

The decision whether or not to grant bail is for the court, which is not obliged to comply with the prosecutor’s recommendations. However, the  prosecution can appeal the decision of the court to grant bail, and will do so where the prosecution considers that a remand with a security requirement is necessary to protect the public from serious harm from the youth or to prevent the youth from committing further offences. This appeal will be to the Crown Court.

The prosecutor has a limited role at the sentencing stage. The prosecutor does not make representations as to the type or length of sentence, but is confined to providing information to the court about the offence, the offender and the victims and to advising the court of the law and its powers.

Scotland/ Ecosse: Where the child has been apprehended by the police and it is intended to submit a report to the public prosecutor, the police may, detain the individual in custody, liberate the individual unconditionally, or place conditions on such liberation (to which the parent/guardian of the individual must agree.)

Where the child is detained, the child must be kept in a place of safety other than a police station until they can be brought to court, unless there are extraordinary circumstances preventing them from doing so.

Under Article 37(b) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, detention or imprisonment of a child should only be used as a measure of last resort and for the shortest possible time. Accordingly, after the first court appearance, a child should not be detained pending trial unless there are compelling reasons for doing so.

Where the child is to be detained and is under the age of 14 and has not been certified as unruly, they should be detained in secure local authority accommodation.

Ukraine: When performing functions in the system of criminal justice in relation to juveniles, public prosecutors shall have the same tasks and authorities as defined by the general rules. At that, they shall take into account the specific legal status of minors.

Article 434 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine reads that a juvenile may be apprehended and committed to custody only in exceptional situations when such a measure of restraint is justified by the severity of the crime incriminated to the juvenile concerned, upon availability of grounds and in accordance with Articles 106, 148, 150, and 155 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine. Parents and persons who fulfill parental functions should be informed on apprehension and placement of a juvenile in custody.

When an investigator approves a submission of a request on keeping a juvenile offender in custody, the prosecutor shall examine all facts of the case and verify legality of evidences collected before filing a request with the court. With due regard for advisability or groundlessness of isolation of a juvenile offender, the prosecutor shall approve or reject a submission of an investigator on selection of the above referred preventive measure.

It should be noted that in each particular case public prosecutors shall carefully verify the necessity of keeping juveniles in custody and shall examine juveniles in all cases. The relevant procedure is regulated with clause 5.1 of the Order of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine N 4 dd. September 19, 2005 “On organization of the procurator's supervision of adherence to the law by the examination and investigation bodies”.

At the stage of pre-trial investigation prosecutors shall verify legality of refusals in opening a criminal case dealing crimes against children or closing of such cases.

Armenia/ Arménie: There is no limit to the duration of detention once the trial begins. The lack of such a limit is not compatible with the recommendation made by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2007, to the effect that all cases involving juvenile accused of an offence should be resolved within 6 months.

            sentencing of juvenile offenders – custodial sentences

The maximum length of the sentences that may be imposed on juvenile offender for other offences depends in part on the age of the offender and the gravity of the offence: the maximum sentence for offences of minor offences is 1 year, for offences of medium gravity - 3 years; the maximum for the most serious category of crimes committed by persons under the age of 16 is 7 years for a single offence, and the maximum for serious or very serious offences committed by juveniles 16 or 17 years of age is 10 years, for a single offence. The total sentence for juveniles convicted of multiple offences may not exceed 7 years for juveniles between the age of 14 or 15, and 10 years for those aged 16 or 17.

In principle, another type of sentence consisting of a short period of imprisonment (from 15 days to 3 months) can be imposed on juveniles 16 or 17 years of age, but this sentence has fallen into disuse, at least for juveniles.

Portugal: voir la fin du document

Ireland/ Irlande: The same principles in relation to the grant of bail apply to juvenile offenders as apply to adult offenders under Irish law. The prosecutor’s role in relation to applications for bail is to oppose any application where it is felt that: there is a fear that the applicant would abscond; there is a fear that the applicant will interfere with witnesses; or the offence in question is a serious offence as defined in section 2 of the Bail Act 1997 and the refusal of bail is reasonably considered necessary to prevent the commission of a further serious offence. Where a juvenile is refused bail section 88 of the Children Act 2001, as substituted by section 135 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006, states that a juvenile must be remanded to a “remand centre”. However, under section 88(12) of the Children Act 2001 an exception applies to males aged 16 and 17 who may remanded in St. Patrick’s Institution (which is not a remand centre) until a suitable remand place becomes available.

If an application for habeas corpus is taken by a juvenile in custody, the Office would have a role in presenting the State’s position with regard to this before the Court.

Russian Federation/ Fédération de Russie: When addressing the issue of selecting a measure of restraint for a suspected or accused juvenile, the possibility of his/her transfer to supervision is discussed in all cases (Article 423 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation). An opinion on the possibility of taking a juvenile into custody, presented by the prosecutor at a court hearing and based on the results of the consideration of an application lodged by the investigator or inquiry officer, is possible in exceptional cases. Legal representatives of a suspected or accused juvenile are notified without delay of his/her arrest, taking into custody or extension of the time of detention. Pursuant to the Federal Law No. 103-FZ dated the 15th of July 1995 “On the detention in custody of persons suspected and accused of the commission of offences”, juveniles are detained in separate premises of investigation detention facilities, that is, they are held separately from adults. The state of legality when criminal penalties are enforced against juvenile offenders is under constant control of the prosecution bodies; regular inspections are carried out in correction colonies and investigation detention facilities.

Czech Republic/ République Tchèque: Act on justice in the matters of young people stipulates that a young person can only be taken in detention if the purpose of detention cannot be achieved otherwise.  From this point of view, using of the institute of detention in criminal matters of young people is an absolutely exceptional measure. The legal regulation of detention is based on the fact that detention of a young person can be replaced with a guarantee, supervision, promise or his/her placement in the care of a reliable person. Detention of a young person can also be replaced with a financial guarantee. These measures are understood in such a way that they should be used preferentially.

Detention in the proceedings in matters of young people must not be longer than two months and if it is a particularly serious wrong act, it must not last longer than six months. After this time expires (two or six months), in exceptional cases it is possible to extend the detention by two more months and in the trial of particularly serious wrong acts by six more months.

Such an extension can only be made once in the preparatory proceedings and once in the proceedings at the juvenile court.

After a young person is released from detention, it is possible to order supervision by a probation officer over the young person which may last until the end of the criminal proceedings.

The subject matter of supervision of public prosecutor is consistent observance of generally binding legal regulations when implementing detention and imprisonment sentence. The subject matter of supervision is not suitability or purposefulness of the procedure of Prison guards on condition that the actual procedure is in accordance with the legal regulation. The subject matter of supervision is not even the conception of detention or imprisonment sentence or correctness or purposefulness of the acts of Prison guards which are only of organisation, controlling or economic nature.

The public prosecutor should pay special attention to persons not being remanded in custody or imprisoned illegally.

When supervising the adherence to legal regulations in places of imprisonment and custody, the public prosecutor is authorised at any time to visit places of custody and imprisonment.

When supervising the serving of a term of imprisonment and the serving of custody, the public prosecutor is authorised to order that a person serving a term of imprisonment (custody) unlawfully should be released immediately. The Prison Service is obliged to execute the order of the public prosecutor immediately.

Under Section 29 of Act no. 293/1993 Coll., on detention on remand, when performing supervision, the public prosecutor is authorised

a)         at any time, to visit places of detention,

b)         inspect the documents on the basis of which the accused persons have been detained, talk to such persons without the presence of a third person,

c)         to check whether the orders and decisions of the Prison Service in the prison related to detention serving comply with the law and other legal regulations,

d)         to require from the Prison Service staff in the prison the necessary explanations, files, documents, orders and decisions related to the detention,

e)         to issue orders requesting adherence to the regulations in force governing the detention serving,

f)          to order that a person detained against a decision of investigative, prosecuting and adjudicating bodies or without such a decision should be released immediately.

The Prison Service is obliged to carry out the public prosecutor’s orders immediately.

Cyprus/Chypre: ?

France: le procureur doit veiller à une juste répression mais en conservant toujours la préoccupation éducative et en évitant si possible que les mineurs soient incarcérés si d’autres solutions sont possibles, par exemple un placement en foyer. Le procureur suit également l’exécution des peines et el bon déroulement des mesures éducatives.  

Georgie/Georgia: There are basic guarantees for juveniles in conflict with law provided by Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia (hereinafter CPCG). Prosecutors are obliged to supervise fulfillment of those guarantees during criminal proceedings, namely: mandatory participation of legal representative in proceedings of Juvenile from the very first interrogation of a juvenile (refusal of defender by juvenile shall not be accepted – art. 81); Attendance of juvenile’s teacher or representative during interrogation is mandatory (art. 306), Attendance ofprosecutor during interrogation is mandatory (art. 248); duration of interrogation shall not exceed 2 hours without recess and 4 hours a day, but if the juvenile shows obvious signs of fatigue, the interrogation shall be terminated (art. 647, while in case of adult an interrogation shall not exceed 4 hours without recess and total duration of the interrogation within a day shall not exceed 8 hours); juvenile cases are decided by judges specially trained in pedagogy and psychology (art. 654); juvenile’s case shall be isolated into a separate independent proceeding (art. 246) and shell be held in camera if requested (art.655); notification upon detention of juvenile of any member of family thereof, or any of relatives or near ones in 3 hours (while for adults mentioned time limit is up to 5 hours – art. 138.); decision on cancellation or shortening of judicial investigation is prohibited if defendant is under16 years (which mean that judicial investigation shall be held in full extent – art. 473.)

Lettonie/Latvia: Prosecutor within the preliminary procedure while performing the supervision according to the Section 37 of the Criminal Procedure Law have an obligation regardless of age of person who has rights to defence to provide instructions regarding selection of procedure type, direction of investigation and performing of investigatory activities, if person directing the proceedings do not ensure purposeful investigation and admits unjustified intervention into the life of person or hesitancy; to request that the direct supervisor of an investigator replace a person directing the proceedings, or make changes in the investigative group, if assigned instructions are not fulfilled or if procedural violations are allowed that threaten the progress of criminal proceedings;  to examine the complaints within the competence; to take decisions on lodged recusations within the competence; to take over the direction of criminal proceedings without delay when sufficient evidence for the fair regulation of criminal legal relations has been obtained in an investigation.   Prosecutor, while performing the supervision in the preliminary procedure, has rights to take decision on instituting of the criminal procedure and passing it to the investigatory institution; request the fulfilment of provided instructions; carry out investigative operations, informing a person directing the proceedings beforehand regarding such carrying out of investigative operations; familiarise him or herself at any time regarding the materials of the criminal proceedings; revoke the decisions of the person directing the proceedings and a member of the investigative group; submit a proposal to a more senior prosecutor regarding the determination of the direct supervisor of another investigator in concrete criminal proceedings, or the transfer of criminal proceedings to another investigative institution; participate in a meeting wherein the investigating judge decides regarding the granting of permission to apply compulsory measures and to perform special investigative operations; to participate in the taking of procedural actions aimed to cooperation with the person who has rights to defence, as well as in selecting of simpler procedure. 

            According to the Section 43 of the Criminal Procedure Law Prosecutor while maintaining the accusation in the first instance or appellation instance court has an obligation and rights with consent of higher prosecutor refuse from maintaining of accusation, if grounded doubts exist regarding guilt of accused; to lodge recusation, if statutory grounds exist; to express him or herself regarding each matter to be decided in court; to direct an examination of evidence of the prosecution, and to participate in an examination of other evidence; to request an interval for the submission of additional evidence or for the bringing of a new charge; to submit requests; to speak in court debates;  to familiarise him or herself with the minutes of a court session, the complete text of an adjudication, and complaints submitted by persons; to appeal court adjudications, if there are grounds to do so. The mentioned rights and obligations Prosecutor implements independently of age of accused in the criminal procedure.

            According to the Section 12 of the Punishments Execution Code of the Republic of Latvia the Prosecutor General and Prosecutors subordinated to him ensures supervision over execution of the liberty deprivation sentences, common and uniform complying with the Laws of the Republic of Latvia in the imprisonment institutions for correction of convicts, including juveniles, and prevent commission of new criminal offences. Prosecutor according to the provisions and procedure of Punishments Execution Code attends in the administrative commission of the imprisonment institutions, wherein decision on mitigation or reinforcing of sentence serving regime are taken, and early release of convicts, hence supervising the compliance of commission decisions to the legal provisions, including cases, when respective issues are decided towards juvenile convicts.   

Moldova: Following his duties Prosecutor protects the right of every child in conflict with the law to be treated in a manner possible to keep his sense of dignity and personal value. Thus, in a criminal procedure the rights and guaranties of juvenile offenders are assured, including: the presumption of innocence, the right to be informed of charges, right to keep silent, the right to a free lawyer and a competent legal advice; right to the presence of a parent or other legal representative, the right to request a confrontation or to a counter-questioning of witnesses and the right to appeal to a higher court. Respect of the rights and guaranties during criminal prosecution of a minor accused in committing a crime is done taking into account the interests of the minor and will be conducted in an atmosphere of understanding, which allows the minor the possibility to participate and express themselves freely.

Also, the prosecutor is obliged to protect any child capable of discernment, and to respect the right of the child to freely express opinion on any matters concerning him. The views of the child are taken into account with regard to age and degree of development and maturity. To this end, the child has the opportunity to be heard in any judicial and administrative proceedings against him. Hearing of the juvenile accused in a criminal proceedings have to be conducted in accordance with the requirements of article 104 and 479 Criminal Procedure Code, with mandatory participation of advocate, educator or psychologist, and a legal representative, except when his participation is contrary to the law. Juvenile justice system rules require the prosecutor to consider the child's views in the criminal proceedings.

       Another fundamental human right is a principle of the juvenile justice system which is to respect the personal privacy and to ensure the normal development of the child. This principle is respected by the prosecutors at all stages of the criminal proceedings, execution of punishment, rehabilitation and resocialization of the juvenile offender. In this regard, any information about minor in conflict with the law could not to make public, if this can lead to the identification of young offenders.

Also, criminal law requires the prosecutor to respect the principle of speed that is - to conduct criminal proceedings within limits. Article 20 part (3) Criminal Procedure Code provides that the prosecution and trial of criminal cases where appear arrested and minor is made emergency and in preference. 

Meanwhile, according duties under the Law on the Prosecutor's Office, prosecutor exercised, based on law, controls the observance of laws in the places of preliminary and remands detention, including the hospital granting psychiatric assistance/care without the consent of the person. If the prosecutor fined cases of detention of the person in the places listed without grounds prescribed by law, it is released immediately by order of the prosecutor performed unconditionally and immediately.

Also, the prosecutor exercised in the manner established by law, control over compliance on activity of execution of court decisions in criminal cases, civil cases and contravention cases that he started.

Monaco : Le rôle du Procureur, en matière de détention préventive, se limite à la prise de réquisitions en vue du placement ou non du mineur en détention. La décision appartient au Juge tutélaire, et le cas échéant, à la Cour d’appel. Au cours de la détention après condamnation, le Procureur intervient pour ordonner un éventuel transfèrement du mineur vers un établissement pénitentiaire français ou pour donner son avis quant aux mesures de grâce et de libération conditionnelle. Il convient de noter que le Procureur Général est systématiquement avisé par le directeur de la maison d’arrêt de tout incident ou de toute difficulté concernant un mineur incarcéré.

Allemagne/Germany : Prosecutors play a key role in all cases of pre-trial custody, detention and imprisonment. Because of the added danger of any deprivation of liberty for juveniles – including committing suicide or being “infected” by adult prisoners – prosecutors have a special task to keep these measures as short as possible. On the other hand, at all stages before and after the conviction they have to care for the non-intervention and influencing of victims or other witnesses by the young perpetrator. 

Montenegro: - Criminal procedure shall be instituted only upon a request of the State Prosecutor. Prosecutor also, has a possibility to apply the principle of opportunity for all criminal offences punishable by imprisonment for a maximum term not exceeding five years.

Republic of Macedonia/République de Macédoine: The Public Prosecutor submitted a proposal for custody to the Judge for juvenile. On the proposal of the prosecutor, on previously obtained opinion of Center, the judge for juvenile may determine to be juvenile placed in the custody of the existence of the grounds of Article 199 of the Act criminal procedure. Custody may be imposed only as an extreme measure ensuring the presence of the juvenile during the procedure, if it cannot be achieved by other measures provided for in the Law on Criminal Procedure. Limit shall be determined by decision of the judge for juveniles and can last no longer than 30 days or 60 days. Public Prosecutor during the entire procedure can give a proposal for the abolition or extension.

Hongrie: 5/a A court warrant for pre-trial detention of juvenile delinquents can only be effected on the motion of the prosecutor. The prosecution can only propose the detention of a juvenile if the existence of conditions envisaged for adult defendants through special preponderance of the offence justifies the coercive measure of imprisonment. Special preponderance is based upon the sentence, the circumstances of the committal and the successiveness of the crime.

Up to the time of bringing charges the prosecutor is entitled to terminate the pre-trial detention if it is no longer pertinent. Pre-trial detention of a juvenile can last no longer than two weeks.

Pre-trial detention of a juvenile has to be implemented in a reformatory school or in a detention centre. The prosecutor proposes to the court the exact place of implementation.

5/b In criminal proceedings against juveniles the indictments are always represented by the juvenile prosecutor. In the course of the trial prosecutors, relying on their proposals and jurisdiction of remedy help the court establish the facts with reference to the juvenile’s personality and his/her characteristic environment; and put forward the implementation of a sanction facilitating the proper improvement of the juvenile.

5/c The imprisonment of juvenile delinquents must take place in special penal institutions; pre-trial detention and enforceable corrective education takes place in reform schools.

In the scope of their activity as responsible for the inspection of legality in execution of punishments and protection of rights juvenile prosecutors are obliged to supervise corrective education and legality of pre-trial detention enforcement twice a month with special attention to the legality of the documents serving as a basis for admission, the observance of deadlines of detention, the circumstances of detention and the insurance of the rights of the detainees.

The juvenile prosecutor supervises the enforcement of the special regulations concerning pre-trial detention of juveniles in the detention facilities of the police and in the detention centres at least once every four months (once every six months in the capital).

The Republic of Hungary is party to the international Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The member states of the Council of Europe signed the Convention on Prevention of Torture and Inhuman Degrading Treatment or Punishment on 26th November 1987 which came into force together with Act III of 1995.

With regard to the requirements and the increased importance of human rights juvenile prosecutors pay special attention to the supervision of legality of the treatment of juvenile detainees when examining the implementation of the above detailed deprivation of personal liberty.

Liechtenstein: Because of the special risks of any deprivation of liberty brings about for juveniles prosecutors have a special task to keep these measures as short as possible.  14-18 year old juveniles are only sentenced to imprisonment in serious cases or in case of repeat offences. In most cases one of the special youth sanctions will be imposed.

Serbie: The public prosecutor is giving suggestion on the juvenile custody, but it does not chain the court.

Iceland:

Prosecuters do not have a specific role in custody before a court hearing, during the hearing and in the detention after conviction, in cases involving juveniles, however the Director of Public Prosecutions has issued rules nr. 9/2009 concerning coercive measures taken against children under the age of 15. Article 3 states the following:

“Coercive measures: Coercive measures during the investigation of criminal matters will generally not be taken against children under the age of 15 except in absolute exceptional instances and provided there exists a clear and unequivocal authorization by law for this. A condition for remand custody, for example, is that a suspect has reached the age of 15; cf. Article 95, paragraph 1, of the Act on Criminal Procedure.

Apprehension: Even though a non-criminally chargeable child will generally not be subjected to coercive measures in the interests of an investigation of a criminal matter, a child may be apprehended and brought without his/her consent to a police station, or to another appropriate location, for the purpose of questioning the child about an offence he/she is suspected of having committed, or removing the child on grounds of his/her conduct in public.

General conditions for apprehension: The prerequisites for apprehending a child under the age of 15, who is suspected of culpable conduct, is that the conditions for apprehension are met and that the interests of an investigation and/or the interests of the child require or strongly support such a measure. Apprehension shall last for as short a period as possible and clearly not longer than deemed necessary in respect of the interests of the investigation and/or to ensure that the child is brought to the appropriate party.

Placement and exercise of force upon apprehension: A child under the age of 15, who has been apprehended, shall be brought to a regular office room or another similar facility. The child may not be brought to a waiting room or a facility where apprehended persons are temporarily placed except in the absence of other facilities. A child under the age of 15 shall not be placed in a cell or be handcuffed or subjected to other equipment used by the police when exercising force, unless absolutely necessary and after other measures have been fully attempted.

Other coercive measures provided for by the Act on Criminal Procedure: A child under the age of 15 shall be subject to confiscation, cf. Section IX of the Act on Criminal Procedure.

Additionally, coercive measures may be taken as provided for by the Act on Criminal Procedure that may not be taken against persons who are not accused in a case, against children under the age of 15, for example, house search and body search, cf. the Act's Articles 78 and 79.”

According to Article 95 of Act number 88 2008 on Criminal Procedure an accused person will only be subjected to remand custody if there exists grounded suspicion of him/her being guilty of conduct that is subject to imprisonment, provided said person has reached the age of 15 and according to Article 20 of the Child Protection Act no. 80/2002, the police are obligated to collaborate with the child protection committees and to provide assistance in resolving cases. The police and prosecution are linked so collaboration with child protection committees is also the prosecutions duty.

Albania/Albanie: According to article of 49 of CPC it must always be appointed a lawyer ex-officio for minor defendants in custody. That lawyer is to represent the minor during all the investigation period before hearings and during all the hearings in the court. After his conviction, the prosecutor has to place the minor at a specialized institution of imprisonment for minor sentenced people.

6.    Quel est le rôle joué par les procureurs dans le partenariat avec les agences locales socio-administratives agissant dans le domaine de la délinquance des mineurs ? Les procureurs sont-ils par exemple associés à des choix de politique de la ville et participent-ils à des instances où l’on retrouve ces partenaires et des élus (comme par exemple les maires des villes), les établissements d’enseignement et les enseignants, etc. ?

What is the role played by public prosecutors in the partnership with local social and administrative agencies working in the field of juvenile delinquency? For instance, are public prosecutors involved in the choices regarding the city policies and do they participate in instances where these partners sit together with elected persons (such as city mayors), schools, teachers, etc.?

Belgium/ Belgique: Les procureurs sont en tout cas indépendants.

Croatia/ Croatie : State Attorney’s Office in juvenile proceedings cooperates, before all, with Social Service Centres (collecting data on personal and family circumstances of juveniles and younger adults, supervision of educational measure of extended care and supervision and educational measure of special obligations), contacts and visits educational institutions and juvenile institutions in which juveniles perform educational measures, and also juvenile prison. In regard to juvenile delinquency and statistical data State Attorney’s Office also cooperates with other institutions, first of all with the aim of improving prevention through the work of those institutions.

Denmark/ Danemark: None

Spain/ Espagne: Public Prosecutors are sometimes invited to participate in commissions related with juvenile justice, for example, commissions to study and to fight against absenteeism or bullying.

Public Prosecutors sometimes also elaborate and sign protocols with institutions to organize and promote the execution of community sanctions and measures.

Estonia/ Estonie: Prosecutors work in close cooperation with the juvenile committees established to local governments, prosecutors participate in the meetings of the committees if necessary, work related joint meetings are held in local governments.

Finland/ Finlande: If it seems probable that a person who has reached the age of 15 years but is not over 21 years of age has committed an offence, a special report (personal enquiry) is prepared on the previous life stages of the young person concerned and on the conditions in which he or she has lived. This report is appended to the charge that is submitted to the court examining the case. The report is prepared and submitted to the public prosecutor by the probation and after-care authority.

Grèce: No collaboration or/and joint resolution of the Minors Public Prosecutor with local social and administrative agents, who determine the state’s policy concerning minor offenders or victims is institutionally provided for.

Italie: Public prosecutors are not involved in choices regarding city policies. They (as well as judges) can take part in inter-institutional meetings, aimed to better coordinate the fulfillment of lines of actions already approved at the competent political level (such as meetings to coordinate the fight against juvenile bullying, to carry out projects concerning penal mediation, to monitor the drug addiction phenomenon, and so on).

Pays-Bas: A distinction is drawn between the public prosecutors who handle juvenile cases and ‘policy public prosecutors’ who sometimes handle cases but are mainly responsible for developing policy for the public prosecutor’s office in the relevant court district. The latter have regular consultations with other partners in the system who work together in the AJP in the field of juvenile justice. In addition, policy agreements are discussed and laid down, sometimes in the form of voluntary agreements, at national level. At local level, contacts are maintained with the relevant court management board and other organisations, for example schools.

Pologne: The Act on the public prosecution service does not specify the cooperation between public prosecutor and local public authorities in the area of juveniles, but provides in Article 9 and 40 such cooperation with regard to all crime.

However, the internal Code of practice of public prosecution organizational units in Paragraph 294 provides that the cooperation between the public prosecutor and the national authorities, organizational units of state, local government bodies and social organizations, in preventing crime and other infringements. Under Paragraph 294, public prosecutor:

1) on its own initiative presents to government authorities information about the state of crime and state law enforcement, and when necessary, puts forward the motions for police regulations provided in the Act on local self-government;

2) participates in the work of the security and order commission on the basis of the Act on regional self-government;

3) take other activities designed to create legal and organizational conditions against infringements of the law.

The above-mentioned activities are not widely used in practice by the prosecutors, but from a formal point of view such a possibility is provided by the law.

Slovak Republic/ République Slovaque: When it comes to the juvenile crime, prosecutors on one hand and local and regional governmental and public bodies, local government organizations or any other organisations and entities on the other hand do not cooperate on the basis of any laws, but they cooperate mainly in the context of situation in individual locations and their particular needs.

Under Sec. 4(1) items f) and g) of Act No. 153/2001 on the Slovak Prosecution Service, the Prosecution Service is involved in the preparation and implementation of preventive measures aimed at the prevention of violations of laws and other generally binding legal rules. It is also involved in eliminating the causes and conditions of criminal activities, as well in the prevention of crime and in the combat of crime. The Prosecution Service pays special attention to the prevention of offences committed by juvenile offenders below the age of 18. The Prosecutor General is a member of the National Crime Prevention Council (Rada vlády SR pre prevenciu criminality). The Prosecution Service on a regular basis participates in the preparation of national action programmes and plans for children and youth; its main role is to take measures aimed at the prevention of the children´s and youth´s exposure to negative phenomena, measures aimed at the proper care of children, who do not live in their biological families, and measures aimed at the training of professionals working with children and for the benefit of children. The Prosecutor General takes part in conferences organised on a regular yearly basis by the National Center for the Crime Prevention, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice (Národná spoločnosť pre prevenciu criminality, trestné právo a súdnictvo) in cooperation with the Slovak Ministry of Education, which deals with the crime prevention at primary and high schools and aims to explore new alternatives and new options to combat juvenile crime. In the context of the of Social Pathology Prevention Scheme, which focuses on children and youth, prosecutors may turn to the Centre of Educational and Psychological Prevention (Centrum výchovnej a psychologickej prevencie) (established under Act No. 279/2003 on Educational Facilities), and seek/propose specific out-patient social, psychological and medical treatment of children exposed to pathological phenomena.

The Prosecution Service also co-operates with schools in individual geographic regions, where lectures, discussions, round tables or any other meetings are organized on the premises of schools at their request, or of the prosecutor´s own motion if he feels that it is necessary to increase the awareness of the youth. Teachers are often very helpful and assist in investigating various juvenile offences.

Prosecutors (on a regular yearly basis) inform local government bodies on the rate of crime in their respective jurisdictions. Their reports also include information on the rate of juvenile crime and on measures taken again juvenile offenders.

Romania/ Roumanie: In their relations with the courts and all the other public authorities the prosecutor’s offices (and the prosecutors) are independent; the prosecutor’s duties are established only by law. The prosecutors’ duties do not provide their involvement in such activities or in the organizational framework. The prosecutor’s duties are practically limited to the judicial activity, both criminal and civil, and to matters regarding crime prevention (article 63 of the Law No.304/2004).

Although the prosecutor does not have prevention attributions, he/she may take part in various scientific or consultative manifestations or structures, as art. 63 of the Law no. 304/2004 stipulating the legal duties of the prosecutors does not forbid it.

But the prosecutor cannot take part in his/her quality as such in decision making or authority structures, in the absence of explicit attributions. In practice, prosecutors occasionally participate in scientific manifestations in the field, but there are no partnerships with the institutions aforementioned.

Slovenia/ Slovénie: In Slovenian juvenile criminal system the role of social agencies (social work centers) is very important. They are involved in all procedures against juveniles and they have the obligation to make report for the prosecutor and judge. They have also the right to be acquainted with the course of proceedings, to make motions during the proceedings and to call attention to facts and evidence of consequence to correct adjudication.

Social work centers also organize meetings of the team of experts for juvenile crimes, including police officers and prosecutors. On these meetings the participants discuss problems of individual juveniles that are in criminal procedure.

The role of prosecutors in our society has been changed and preventive role is not emphasized any more. Before these legislative changes took place, prosecutors were very active in this field, especially by organizing lectures in schools on the topic of juvenile crimes. During these lectures they presented all the circumstances, which are important for preventing juvenile crimes.

Sweden/ Suède: The public prosecutors dealing with juveniles are in contact with the social agencies working in the field of juvenile delinquency. This is necessary as the juvenile, as said above, very seldom is in detention but is taken care of by the social authorities. The contacts with child protection services and other organizations are mainly arranged by the Police.

Turkey/ Turquie: Article 33 of Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395)  regulates the role of social workers who work together with juvenile courts and  related juvenile bureaus of public prosecution services:

The officers shall have the obligation to assist the social workers during their studies and to provide them with any requested information on the juvenile.

The money spent by the social workers during their duties and the duty expenses appreciated by the court shall be paid from the flagrante delicto appropriation of the Chief Public prosecutor’s office.

The presence of social workers during the interrogation of the minors  brings the Public prosecutor  in regular relation with social workers enabling him/her to take advantage from their experiences and expertise.

According  the Article 35 of the Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395) an enquiry clarifying the individual characteristics and social environment of the juveniles covered under this Law shall be conducted when considered necessary by courts, juvenile judges or Public prosecutors.

This enables the prosecutor to build  a way into the social conditions of the minor  who committed a crime.

The social enquiry report can be used  by the application  of the discretional powers  of the prosecutor to prosecute or not to prosecute  as regards the Article 171 of the Criminal Procedure Code  .

According the article 37 of the Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395)   The directorate of probation and assistance centre  ( a directorate within Ministry of Justice) shall appoint a supervision officer for juveniles taken under supervision. However, in case of juveniles that are in need of protection, juveniles pushed to crime who have not yet completed age twelve at the time of the offence, and the juveniles about whom there is a court decision to return them to the custody of their families, the supervision duty regarding such juveniles shall be carried out by the Social Services and Child Protection Agency in accordance with surveillance principles.

When appointing supervision officers, the personal characteristics and needs of the juvenile shall be taken into consideration and those with easy access to the juvenile shall be preferred.

Duties of the supervision officer are as follows:

a) to support, assist, and when necessary, advice the juvenile in order to ensure the juvenile’s adaptation to the educational, familial, institutional, business and social environment so as to realize the objective sought with the court decision.

b) To provide guidance to the juvenile with regard to institutions from which the juvenile can receive education, employment or support, and with regard to his/her rights and how to exercise such rights.

c) To assist the juvenile in benefiting from the services which he/she may need.

d) To visit the places where the juvenile stays, the persons with whom he/she contacts, and hence examine on-site the education and business performance of the juvenile, and his/her leisure activities.

e) to monitor the implementation of the court decision, the consequences of the implementation thereof, and its effects on the juvenile, and to inspect the fulfilment of the obligations imposed on the juvenile.

f) to submit reports on the development of the juvenile, at three-month intervals, to the Public prosecutor or the court.

When carrying out his/her duties, the supervision officer shall cooperate with the juvenile’s parents, guardian, caretaker and teachers.

Representatives of the institutions who have information on the juvenile’s mother, father, guardian, caretaker, supervisor, school, workplace or on the juvenile shall have the obligation to assist the supervision officer and provide him/her with any information he/she may request in line with his/her duties.

The juvenile’s next-of-kin cannot interfere with the capacities of the supervision officer. (Article 38 Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395) )

The  public prosecutor can use this reports by the giving of decision  whether  the measurements taken as regards the minor are efficient or not and if there is a need to  change it etc.

According Article 39 of the law ; The methodology of the supervision that will be applied for the juvenile shall be determined by the supervision officer, together with the specialist carrying out the social enquiry or the social worker at the court, via a plan that they will prepare within 10 days following the appointment.

The following has to  be taken into consideration when preparing the plan:

a) the purpose, nature and duration of the measure taken with regard to the juvenile,

b) the juvenile’s needs,

c) The seriousness of the state of danger in which the juvenile is,

d) the degree of support given to the juvenile by his/her parents, guardian, caretaker and supervisor,

e) In case of any measures as a result of being pushed to crime, the nature of the act constituting an offence,

f) The opinion of the juvenile.

The supervision plan shall be implemented as soon as it is approved by the court or the juvenile judge. The supervision officer shall report to the court or the juvenile judge the manner in which the court decision is being implemented, its effects on the juvenile and whether the juvenile’s parents, guardian, individuals or institutions responsible for looking after and supervising the juvenile fulfil their responsibilities duly, whether there are any conditions that require a change in the decided measure and any other issue on which a report may be requested, every month and whenever demanded.

As regards Article 40 of Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395)  the  supervision shall terminate with the end of the period provided for in the court decision. In case the benefit expected from the measure is achieved beforehand, the supervision may be lifted before the expiry of the prescribed period.

Supervision shall end when the juvenile is arrested for another crime or when the juvenile starts serving the penalty.

Article 43 regulates that costs of the supportive and protective measures decreed with regard to the juvenile shall be paid by the Government. The amount payable shall be established via a court decision.

In case the financial means of the person responsible for the care of the juvenile pursuant to the provisions of the Turkish Civil Code is not favourable, the amount paid by the Government has to be  collected via recourse to the relevant persons and authorities.

As regards the article 44 of the Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395) the provisions of the Law on Trial of Civil Servants and Other Public Officials dated 2.12.1999 and numbered 4483 shall not be applied to public officials in connection with the duties falling under the scope of this Law.

The prosecutor can  therefore begin to directly prosecute   the officers who have not  fulfilled  their responsibilities towards the to be protected children,  without having a need to get  a permission from some authorities as it is generally foreseen for other public officers.

Article 45 of Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395) envisages that the supportive and protective measures included in Article 5 of this Law shall be carried out as follows:

a) consulting and shelter measures specified in subparagraphs (a) and (e) by the Ministry of National Education, the Social Services and Child Protection Agency and by local governments,

b) education/training measures specified under subparagraph (b) by the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security,

c) care measures specified under subparagraph (c) by the Social Services and Child Protection Agency,

d) health measures specified under subparagraph (d) by the Ministry of Health.

Any and all kinds of assistance and support requests placed by the Social Services and Child Protection Agency with regard to the fulfilment of law enforcement services required during the execution of the care and shelter measures, the rehabilitation and education of the juveniles, or with regard to other issues falling under the jurisdiction of other ministries shall be responded to, without any delay, by the Ministry of National Education, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Health and the other relevant ministries and public organizations and institutions.

The Ministry of Justice shall coordinate the execution of these measures.

- According Article 76 of the Law on Mmunicipialities ( No:5393) an institution called “the city council” seeks to realize the development of a city vision and responsible citizenship, preservation of urban rights and rule of law, sustainable development, responsiveness to environment, mutual social assistance and solidarity, transparency, accountability, participation and subsidiarity in urban life.

The municipalities shall provide assistance and support in relation to the effective and fruitful conduct of  the activities of the city councils, consisting of the representatives of professions’ chambers having the status of a public body, trade unions, notaries,universities if exist,concerned civil society organizations, political parties, public institutions and the neighborhood heads, as well as other relevant participants.

The public prosecution services of different  towns are attending the meetings and activities of this institutions within their competence  area.

As regards the article 14 of the  law on Law on Municipalities ( No:5393) the municipalities have the duty to establish protecting houses for woman and children which have a population than more 50.000.

This kind of activities and duties to be fulfilled by the municipalities and different institutions creates  conditions for public  prosecutors  to  cooperate with institutions related to the protecting of children. 

According the Regulation on Protective and Supportive Measures Taken As Regards the Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395; the coordination of the institutions by  the implementation of protective and supportive  measures have to be fulfilled by a council which consists of the governor, public prosecutor, police or gendarmerie senior  officers, directors of  national education and public health service, mayor of the city, the director of the regional service of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, director of the youth and sports service, director of , director of the special provincial administration, director of the probation and assistance centre and representative of bars association.

Academicians or representatives of non governmental organizations can  attend the meetings of the council too.

The secretariat of the council  has to be carried out by the directorate of the social services of the province.

The governors have to take all measurements  including the medical treatment of the child, preparing of  social reports, assigning of a residence or staff  etc

England and Wales/ Angleterre et pays de Galle: As the youth justice system in England and Wales follows a justice rather than a welfare model, the partnership roles played by the Crown Prosecution Service are largely in the field of criminal justice rather than services for children and young people.

The Crown Prosecution Service is a member of the National Criminal Justice Board, and there are Local Criminal Justice Boards (LCJBs) in each of the 42 criminal justice areas. LCJBs consist of members of all criminal justice agencies such as police, courts, probation service and they are responsible for the delivery of criminal justice services.

 

Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards (LSCBs) are statutory bodies that exist in each of the 150 local authority areas and are responsible for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in each area. There is a statutory duty on a number of organisations to cooperate to safeguard children, including the police, local authorities, youth offending service, prisons and health services. However, although the Crown Prosecution Service is not subject to this statutory duty, the CPS may join the LSCB. 

Scotland/ Ecosse: This will vary on a local and national level. The sole purpose of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is to act as the public prosecution service for Scotland. In this role, nationally, the Service will interact with, and be consulted by, the national government and agencies.

Similarly, at a local level, district and area Procurators Fiscal will meet regularly with local authorities and agencies in respect of juvenile delinquency.

Ukraine: Prosecutors coordinate activities of law-enforcement bodies, social and administrative agencies in the field of juvenile delinquency. They share information; during coordination meetings, prosecutors hear reports of representatives of such bodies and agencies, make motions, including those submitted lo local self-government bodies, for taking the required actions.

Representatives of enterprises, institutions and organizations minor studies at or works for shall take part in the court processing; it strengthens the pedagogic effect to the trial and allows getting the fullest data on the personality and behavior of a minor, his/her background, education and labor conditions (Article 443 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine).

For additional educational pressure, other organizations, like custodian bodies, health care institutions, civil society organizations and intermediates in the process of reconciliation of victims with minor offenders, shall take part in the court proceeding with participation of minors. If reconciliation is attained, the court can impose the most suitable measures of educational character against minors with due regard for material circumstances, when solving the issue of releasing from liability because of adoption of compulsory measures of educational character or reconciliation with victims.

The above referred representatives of enterprises, institutions or organizations shall not have independent procedural rights, but they can be examined by the prosecutor or the court as witnesses, if required.

In addition, a legal representative of a juvenile defendant should be present during the court sitting (Article 441 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine). Subject to paragraph 10 of Article 32 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine, “representatives in law” shall be parents, custodians, caretakers of the person concerned or representatives of institutions and organizations, which took custody, or care of the persons concerned.

Armenia/ Arménie: In 2008, the Government approved a National Programme for the Prevention of Crime 2008-2012. Three of the nine activities envisaged by the Progamme specifically concern juveniles: the creation of “rehabilitation centers for juvenile offenders in Yerevan, Gyumri and Vanadzor”; ensuring cooperation between the municipal Child Protection Units and NGOs, and the introduction of Juvenile Police officers in ten secondary schools on a trial basis. The decree approving the Programme also established an inter-ministerial commission to coordinate implementation. The commission should meet quarterly, but to data it has met only once, in August 2009.

The governmental bodies that have most responsibility for the prevention of offending by juveniles are the Juvenile Police and the newly established “Child Protection Units.” There are 280 juvenile police officers throughout the country, and all have received training on child rights and related issues. A code of conduct on the treatment of children was adopted in 2005.

Traditionally, the Juvenile Police undertake this responsibility mainly through the “registration” of children at risk. They have now taken on another role in a “legal socialization” project aimed at sensitizing school children about offending. This project, known as Project “Zang”, has been incorporated into the National Programme for the Prevention of Crime and is implemented with the assistance of the NGO “Project Harmony Armenia”. It is implemented in grades 6 to 9 by teams of teachers and Juvenile Police officers. Initially there was resistance, because of the bad image of the police, but parents and schools later evaluated the experience positively. The organizers also report that the programme has helped change the attitudes of participating police officers.

Portugal: voir la fin du document

Ireland/ Irlande: There is no formal role. The Office would occasionally be asked to give opinions on draft legislation and policy documents.

Russian Federation/ Fédération de Russie: Pursuant to the laws of the Russian Federation and the orders of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, the prosecution bodies exercise supervision over the legality of the investigation of criminal cases; moreover, the supervision over the legality for criminal cases against juveniles or cases where juveniles are victims is considered a priority line of activities.

Czech Republic/ République Tchèque: Act on justice in the matters on young people stipulates a principle of cooperation of bodies active in criminal proceedings with a body of social and legal protection of children, with interest groups of citizens and with persons implementing probation programmes. Involvement of these entities could contribute significantly to the timely and adequate reaction to young delinquents. Therefore the act places a duty on the bodies active in criminal proceedings to cooperate with these entities and their participation in implementation of court decisions and cooperation in reformation of young people as well as during creation of a suitable social background of young people is also expected. 

As in the proceedings in criminal matters of young people it is also necessary to find out as thoroughly as possible the degree of intellectual and moral development of the young person, his/her character, background and environment where he/she lived and was brought up, his/her behaviour before the wrong act was committed and after it was committed and other circumstances important for the choice of means suitable for his/her reformation, it is important that the public prosecutor cooperates with the relevant body of social and legal protection of children and Probation and Mediation Service. 

The public prosecutor usually asks these entities to establish the background of the young person. A report on personal, family and social background of a young person and current life situation of a young person must be prepared in writing, unless the presiding judge for juvenile and in the preparatory proceedings the public prosecutor determine otherwise, and it must include mainly the age of the young person, degree of his/her maturity, and also his attitude to the wrong act and his/her willingness to ensure elimination of the caused damage or redressing of other consequences, family background of the young person, including his/her relationship with his/her parents, degree of influence of the parents on him/her and relationship between the young person, his/her extended family and close social surroundings, records of his/her school attendance, behaviour and school results, and if he/she is employed, also the facts important for assessment of his/her behaviour in his/her job, list of his/her previous wrong acts and measures applied against him/her as well as description of their implementation, including the way of behaviour of the young person.

 

In the criminal and non-criminal area, the public prosecutor mainly cooperates with the bodies of social and legal protection of children and with Probation and Mediation Service. It also does not exclude cooperation with other entities (e.g. school, municipal authorities, pedagogical and psychological counselling centres etc.).

The aim of the cooperation is educational influence on the young person so that in future he/she would not commit any new wrong acts, individual approach to solution of the individual issues and timely reaction to the needs and interests of the injured persons. 

The Public Prosecutor’s Office supports the efforts for creation of models of multidisciplinary cooperation of all the organs active in the areas of delinquency of children and young people (i.e. courts, police, Public prosecutor’s Office, Probation and Mediation Service, department of social and legal protection of children, workplaces implementing probation programmes and other social services), starting from the local level.

Cyprus/Chypre: - The Attorney General’s Office participates in a number of National Committees and Organizations working in the field of juvenile delinquency or other relevant fields.

- For example the AG’s office participates in the Anti-Crime Council established by  the Ministry of Justice and Public Order, aiming to develop a National Crime Prevention Policy and a Policy Formulation concerning the Treatment of Offenders. The Council is chaired by the Minister of Justice and composed of key agencies with an active role in the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders. The members who constitute the Council come both from governmental and non-governmental agencies. They represent the Ministries of Labour and Social Insurance, Education and Culture and the Ministry of Health. There are also representatives from the Attorney General’s Office, the Supreme Court, the University of Cyprus, the Youth Board, the Cyprus Radio Television Authority, the Union of Cyprus Municipalities and the Pancyprian Welfare Council.

The Council have looked into the situation in Cyprus and in other European countries, regarding the prevention of crime and treatment of offenders and have prepared a report. This report has included suggestions concerning a number of preventive programs and actions that are applied to the general population and high-risk groups and programs and measures for the treatment of offenders and the social rehabilitation of detainees. A significant part of this report has especially examined the situation in the country regarding juvenile crime and has taken the views of experts who had both practical and theoretical knowledge about the way in which children are processed through the criminal justice system.

France: les procureurs participent à de nombreuses instances éducatives  ou de politique de la ville comme par exemple avec les élus maires des villes, dans le cadre des  contrats locaux de sécurité , les grands établissements scolaires etc..

Georgie/Georgia: Since 2006, the Community Prosecution project is practiced in various regions of Georgia. Community prosecution is grass-roots approach to justice; it unites law enforcers and society in general to address safety concerns of local communities. The major goals of Community Prosecution are increase of prosecutors’ accountability before the public; assist prosecutors in crime prevention; awareness rising of prosecutors’ work while increasing public trust. Juvenile Justice has been considered as one of the main priorities for the Community Prosecution.

To fulfill the above-mentioned goals several activities are implemented, namely: twice a year sociological surveys are conducted for the assessment of situation; local consultative councils (involving parents, teachers, civil sector) are created at regional prosecutor’s offices; cooperation with police, educational and social institutions; organization of intensive educational programs in local schools (e.g. seminars related to the specificities of following crimes: hooliganism, use of drugs, carrying cold and hold weapons, criminal liability of juveniles, sanctions and other consequences), organizations of students’ visits to local prosecutor’s offices; direct contact with juveniles on probation/supervision; organization of competitions in intellectual games and in sports, etc.

Lettonie/Latvia: Prosecutors within their competence actively participate in different events arranged with aim to ensure full protection of person rights, including juveniles, in Latvia. Also in cases when the representation of the Prosecution Office is required the Prosecutors are involved into the working groups and invited to meetings arranged with intention to improve efficiency and quality of work of the law enforcement regarding diminishing of delinquency of juveniles. 

Moldova: National legislation provides that elaboration of the policies in juvenile justice will be done on a multidisciplinary level, involving parents, educational institutions and all the structures responsible for the protection of child rights, for the prevention and combating juvenile delinquency, for assistance, resocialization of the minors in conflict with the law, care, protection and education of them. The central government and local authorities, law enforcement, courts have the competences for implementing this principle.

Juvenile justice system requires that in activity to protect and assist the child in conflict with the law, to combat and prevent juvenile delinquency competent public authorities, organs of protection of the rule of law, including prosecution cooperate extensively with NGOs and other representatives of civil society, which represents and defends the rights of children, realized measures to protect the rights and interests of children.

Monaco : Compte tenu des spécificités de la Principauté et plus particulièrement géographiques, il n’existe pas de politique structurelle de partenariat. Toutefois, la bonne organisation des services éducatifs et sociaux monégasques permet un suivi rigoureux des mineurs délinquants auquel est associé étroitement le Procureur Général par la saisine systématique des services administratifs en charge de ces problèmes.

Allemagne/Germany : In Germany, prosecutors are part of the local social network. They join conferences about social burning points, initiate city policies or other social measures to prevent young people from becoming criminals or to suppress severe criminality. 

Montenegro: - According to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code (article 467), Center for Social Work shall be informed in case the criminal procedure against juvenile is discontinued. This information shall contain the description of the criminal offence and circumstances under which the criminal offence is committed. Guardianship authority is responsible to undertake necessary measures in order to protect and help juveniles. If there is no possibility to provide school and health care for them, in some other way, Center for Social Work will place children in dorms, hospitals or some other institutions.

Republic of Macedonia/République de Macédoine: The Public Prosecutor who works in the field of juvenile delinquency has an active role in cooperation with local social and administrative agencies and is a member of the State Council for the Prevention of juvenile offense where members are the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, Ministry of Education and Science Ministry of  Interior, Public Prosecutor of the Republic of Macedonia  Supreme Court of the Republic of Macedonia and the Bar Association  Macedonia and also is a member of the Municipal Council of  juvenile  offense, where representatives of the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, centers for social work, representatives of the council of parents in primary and secondary schools, the Union of Secondary School, Bar Association , civic associations and foundations and Judge for juvenile. 

Hongrie: Juvenile prosecutors regularly participate in cooperative crime prevention consultations with probation supervision services, police, family protection and county child and youth protection coordinators.

Similarly, there is a daily cooperation between the juvenile prosecutors and the county courts of guardians, acting on behalf of juveniles.

Liechtenstein: In Liechtenstein, prosecutors are part of the local social network. They take part in conferences about social burning points and sometimes initiate measures to prevent young people from becoming criminals or to suppress severe criminality.

Serbie: The public prosecutor has only the advisory role.

Iceland :

According to Article 18 of Act no. 88/2008 on Criminal Procedure, the prosecution in Iceland is the Director of Public Prosecutions and the chiefs of police.  The role of the prosecution is to ensure, in collaboration with the police, that offenders are subjected to penalty as provided for by law. The Office of the National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police engages in important preventive measures with the purpose of reducing law violations in Iceland. The chiefs of police in Iceland also engage in preventive measures in their precincts and thus handling the affairs of children and adolescents up to the age of 15. Such preventive work is carried out in connection with the child protection authorities in Iceland. The police also carry out focused surveillance in special areas, for example, monitoring adolescent drinking and violations of the rules unaccompanied children at public places. Underage children who commit violations of law are brought in for questioning by the police, together with a parent and a representative of the child protection authorities. The prosecution has no special role in this respect other than aiding the police if requested.

Albania/Albanie: The Law for the Organization of the Prosecution Office, article 5, provides the prosecutors with the role of coordination and cooperation with other education of the public on criminal matters and crime prevention. But in practice this role is played in a low profile and it seems the Prosecution Office does not feel involved in the city policies or school programs on matters of juvenile delinquency.

7.    Dans la pratique, quel rôle les procureurs jouent-ils dans la coordination et la coopération des principaux acteurs impliqués dans le processus d'enquête (tels que les services de protection de l'enfance, la police, les tribunaux, les professionnels médicaux, autres) ? Veuillez préciser.

In practice, what is the role played by public prosecutors in the coordination and cooperation of the main actors involved in the investigation process (such as the child protection services, police, prosecutors, courts, the medical profession, others)? Please specify.

Belgium/ Belgique : Lors de l’adoption de la loi de 8 avril 1965 en 2006, la fonction de magistrats de liaison a été créée. Ils ont la tâche d'établir des contacts permanents avec les responsables des services des Communautés chargés de la mise en œuvre des décisions et ordonnances de placements, dans le respect des compétences des services des Communautés et ce afin qu'ils puissent développer des discussions conceptuelles sur les modalités de placement. Cela permet de rapprocher la vision de la magistrature et des IPPJ concernées dans les matières où une intervention du juge lors du placement du jeune s'impose.

Croatia/ Croatie : Cooperation between State Attorney’s Office and Police is present in pre-trial proceedings in the work on specific cases. With the aim of protecting juvenile’s interests, especially in cases of protection of children and juveniles in criminal-law sense, we cooperate with Social Service Centres as well. During further proceedings, by submitting request for initiation of preliminary proceeding against a juvenile perpetrator of criminal offence or investigative request, i.e. indictment request in case of criminal offences committed against children and juveniles, State Attorney is a party in the procedure before court.

Denmark/ Danemark: At local level, the Danish Police and Prosecution Service are one service headed by a Commissioner of Police. Thus, the cooperation between Police and Prosecution during the investigative phase can be very close if needed. E.g. the prosecutor can ask the investigating police officer to ask specific questions during an interrogation, just as the prosecutor can ask the police officer to initiate further investigative steps. The Police notify social services when a person under the age of 18 is arrested. Furthermore, social services as a general rule are present during the police interrogation. The prosecutor will prior to the trial ask social services to recommend which sanction they regard as appropriate in a specific case and the prosecutor will present the recommendation of the social services to the court.

Spain/ Espagne: Public Prosecutors have a major role in the coordination and cooperation of the main actors involved in the investigation process. Public Prosecutors give instructions to the Police to investigate the facts and the people involved (article 6 LORPM). Prosecutors also order the forensic surgeon the necessary inquiries in relation with deaths, injuries, possible mental disorders etc.

Public Prosecutors also have a strong link with the Administrative bodies in charge of protection measures for deprived or abandoned children as they are the superior supervisors of Child Protection Services´ activities.

Public Prosecutors act before the court promoting pre trial measures, or inquiries that can affect fundamental rights such as the secrecy of communications. They also promote sanctions and civil liability against the alleged perpetrator and other possible responsible. Finally, they control the legality of the decisions of the Juvenile Magistrate, and the legality of the execution of sanctions and measures.

Public Prosecutors also control legality of the activities of the administrative bodies in charge of the execution of sanctions and measures.

Estonia/ Estonie: Prosecutor’s offices control pre-trial proceedings, ensuring their legality and efficiency; whereas a prosecutor may be present in a procedural act and intervene in its course, make procedural acts, issue orders to investigative bodies, etc. The proceedings of criminal offences committed by minors and criminal offences against minors are in Estonia the priority in the fight against crime, in which all the different participants engage in daily and close cooperation.

Finland/ Finlande: As the prosecutor is in a position to influence the pre-trial investigation of a case, to decide whether or not to prefer charges, and to prosecute the case in court, the prosecutor can, in practice, influence the progress and investigation of the case in various ways; for example by seeking to ensure that the case is not unduly delayed or notifying special authorities if their actions are required.

Greece/ Grèce: Minors Public Prosecutor accepts to hearing citizens who face problems in relation to their minor children and either directs them to the competent civil courts to resolve their disputes (i.e. arrangement of issues concerning custody between two divorced parents, arrangement of issues concerning visitation of parent who does not have the custody with his/her minor children) or orders the competent police officers to make recommendations to parents involved concerning the application of the law dispositions or judicial resolutions, or –in more severe cases- summons before him parents or third parties (relatives or/and parents’ companions, neighbours etc.) or has telephone communication with teachers or social workers or other competent services.

                      Moreover, when Minors Public Prosecutor receives complaints or/and reports of services or schools concerning dangers menacing the life or health of some minors, has the power (except from holding preliminary investigation for detecting perpetration of any criminal actions)  to give order to the locally competent social services to hold a detailed inspection of the family, the residence, the physical and psychological health of the minors involved and remit to him/her the respective report, in order to identify their life conditions and the possibilities of its improvement through social welfare agents. If there is no possibility of improvement and if it is impossible for parents or persons who cohabit with minors to raise the danger run by minors (cases of physically or mentally ill parents) or if the same create this danger (cases of minors abuse) and if the competent social workers also propose removal of children from their family environment and their hosting either in relative persons or private or public institutions, Minors’ Public Prosecutor has the power, in exceptionally urgent cases, by issuing an Order “to order any convenient measure for the protection of the minor, until the Court, to which he/she must refer within thirty days, pronounces its judgement”. In those cases, he/she gives the respective orders of removal, hospitalisation in emergency children hospitals and hosting in relatives or institutions (article 1532 par.3 Civil Code as added by article 22 Law 3346/2005) and files a petition to the competent court for divesting the custody of minors from their parents and its assignment to third parties or institutions. These resolutions may always, by virtue of a petition of the Minors Public Prosecutor or parents or relatives or the child itself be revoked or reformed if there exists a change in the living conditions (article 1536 Civil Code).

            In Athens and in particular in the General Police Directorate of Attica, the Minors Protection Subdirectorate operates, the 1st Department of which is occupied with prosecution, apprehension and police preliminary investigation of minor perpetrators of criminal actions and the 2nd Department of which is occupied with the protection of minor victims of criminal actions. Policemen of both Departments, who act ex officio and upon order of Minors Public Prosecutor for the detection and investigation of perpetration of criminal actions by minors or against minor victims, are specialised and trained in receiving depositions and defences by minors. Minors (perpetrators or victims) deposit in the special offices of these Departments, with the purpose to avoid mingling with adults. Police officers are obliged to behave to minor offenders “with particular sensitivity, understanding and humanity” as explicitly determined in articles 3 and 5 of the Presidential Decree 254/2004 “Police Officer Ethics Code” (Official Gazette A’238/3.12.2004). It is self evident that any aprehended minor offender is detained in the special detention centres of the Minors Protection Subdirectorate until they are brought before the Minors Public Prosecutor. The institution of Minors Police has been extended to Thessaloniki, Heraklion and Patras.

Italy/ Italie: In the Italian system, the public prosecutor has direct control of the criminal investigation. He/she directs the detective branch and dispose of specialised police units. It is under his/her responsibility to promote and take advantage of relationships with social services, school and any other institution, to understand in depth the personal and family situation of the young offender and to take appropriate decisions at the end of the investigation and other possible initiatives (such as the assignment to a rehabilitation centre, for example).

Netherlands/ Pays-Bas: The public prosecutor leads the investigation and in the process has contact with             all kinds of actors, including the police, the youth care office etc.

Poland/ Pologne: Such activities are provided in the Act on on the proceedings in juveniles cases and in the Family and Custodianship Code. Jurisdiction in these matters has the competent family court and specialized family judge.

Slovak Republic/ République Slovaque: The Prosecution Service cooperates with the police, courts of law, child-welfare agencies, social agencies and medical doctors within the limits of applicable criminal and administrative laws. The prosecutor is the only entity authorised to indict and charge a juvenile offender with a crime by formal legal process upon proposal put forward by the police investigation officer, of course, having taken a due account of the circumstances of the case, and he may also decide about the outcome of the pre-trial procedures involving a juvenile offender. He closely cooperates with child-welfare agencies and social agencies with a view to assisting them to prepare a report on the situation in the juvenile offender´s family and on his social background. All institutions involved in this process always bear in mind and take a due account of the educational impact of their decisions.

Romania/ Roumanie: During the criminal investigation stage, the prosecutor directly conducts and controls the criminal investigation activity of the judicial police and of the other special investigation bodies and supervises that the criminal investigation papers shall be drawn up with the observance of the legal provisions. The drawing up of any criminal investigation paper may be ordered by the prosecutor. As regards the investigation bodies of the judicial police, their hierarchically superior bodies may not provide them with guidance or dispositions concerning the criminal investigation, the prosecutor being the competent authority to do so. The prosecutor’s dispositions are mandatory for the criminal investigation body.

The child protection services are not subordinated to the prosecutor, having their own duties. Likewise, other persons involved in the act of justice – professionals, experts, physicians – are not subordinated to the prosecutor, their duties are provided by the law. upon the request of the prosecutor, according to the questions and objectives established by him, with the observance of the procedure foreseen both by the Criminal Procedure Code and the legal methodology, professionals and experts, physicians included, have the obligation to draw up the technical-scientific findings and expertises. If he considers that the forensic or technical-scientific report is not complete or its conclusions are not precise, the prosecutor shall order that the forensic or technical-scientific finding be redone or completed or he shall order the drawing up of an expertise. When he deems necessary, he shall also ask the expert for written additional information or he shall call for the expert in order to provide oral explanations concerning the expertise report. In this case, the hearing of the expert shall be carried out according to the provisions regarding the hearing of the witnesses (articles 115 and 124 of the Criminal Procedure Code). A supplement of expertise or a new expertise may be requested.

The collaboration between the prosecutor and the professionals or experts is resumed to providing them with the materials and information which will enable them to perform the finding or the expertise.

Slovenia/ Slovénie: We closely cooperate with the police officers who have special knowledge and education in the area of juvenile crimes.

We try to propose the right criminal sanction against the juveniles, which are educational measures (reprimands, instructions and prohibitions, supervision by social services, committal to an educational institution, to a juvenile detention centre or to an institution for physically or mentally handicapped youth) and sentencing (fine, imprisonment, revoking of a driving license and banishment from the country). Our proposal is based on the data gathered through pre-trial procedure, with the cooperation of the police, social work centers and occasionally through medical institutions.

Sweden/ Suède: The prosecutors are conducting the investigations concerning juveniles and there is a provision that this should be done fast. There should be a decision within six weeks from the day when the suspicion was communicated to the juvenile (section 4). The prosecutor may, concerning juveniles between 15 and 18 of age, ask for a remark from the social authorities before he or she prosecutes the juvenile. There are special provisions about the quite extensive information that should be covered in the remark (Sections 10 and 11). Consequently, during the investigation, the prosecutors are involved in the contacts with the social authorities and take notes from their remarks.

Turkey/ Turquie: The criminal investigation is led by the public prosecutor. But certainly  due to the immense of the acts which could  fall under the scope of the criminal law  this is mostly conducted by the police or gendarmerie. The police or gendarmerie units are submitting the documents prepared by them to the public prosecution services. They act as a type of judicial  police. There is always a correspondence or phone  contact or other  electronic information exchange between these institutions and the prosecution services. The administration of the prosecution is led in general trough orders, information  etc.  by the public prosecution service.

England and Wales/ Angleterre et pays de Galle: The police are responsible for conducting the investigation into a criminal offence, but may seek advice from the Crown Prosecution Service, who can advise on the nature and extent of evidence that is needed and the lawfulness of the way that evidence is adduced. The police will liaise with child protection services and experts as necessary to obtain evidence. 

The courts play no role in the investigation process, although the police may need the magistrates to issue a warrant in order for them to enter premises to effect a search e.g. for drugs or stolen goods.

Scotland/ Ecosse: As stated above, it is the role of the public prosecutor in Scotland to decide whether to prosecute, whether there is sufficient evidence in the case and if a prosecution would be in the public interest. Additionally, the public prosecutor may direct the police investigation to gather all relevant information that is required for any prosecution. The public prosecutor is a main actor in this investigation process.

Furthermore, in more serious cases, public prosecution staff may take a more active role in the investigation, by precognoscing witnesses and evaluating the strength of the case.

Ukraine: Subject to clause the order of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine dd. April 15, 2004 N 6/1 “On organization of operation of the prosecution agencies in the sphere of protection of rights and freedoms of minors”, public prosecutors shall oversee adherence to laws in activities of the Services in Charge of Juveniles and the Criminal Juvenile Militia with due regard for the crime rate, occurrence of juvenile crimes and status of rights of the minors. Prosecutors shall audit Services in Charge of Juveniles and departments for family, children and youth affairs; take measures for raising the level and efficiency of the preventive measures of the Criminal Juvenile Militia; respond towards violations of the law on search for missing children, prevent involvement of juveniles in the criminal and other illegal activities.

Also, public prosecutors oversee adherence to the laws aimed at protection of rights and interests of children. It is one of the major directions of prevention crimes and offences among minors, in particular, in the sphere of life and health protection, education, recreation and leisure, benefits and guaranties for minors, in particular those dealing with adoption.

Also, the public prosecutor takes part in all court proceedings dealing with offences committed by minors. At that, the court May cite representatives of the Service in charge of Juveniles and the Criminal Juvenile Militia to appear in court session. A representative of the Service in Charge of Juveniles may express his/her opinion about the most appropriate form of re-education of the defendant (Article 442 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine).

Armenia/ Arménie: The main function of prosecutor prescribed by the law is to carry out the procedural control of investigation, to make mandatory instructions, to cancel illegally made decisions of investigators.

Portugal: voir la fin du document

Ireland/ Irlande: The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions is completely independent from the Courts and the Gardaí. The Office will receive a completed investigation file from the Gardaí and will make a decision whether or not to prosecute based on that. In a formal sense, the Office has no role in directing the investigation. In practice, however, it may have a role in some circumstances in requesting additional evidence from the Gardaí or other actors involved in the investigation process and such requests would invariably be complied with.

Russian Federation/ Fédération de Russie: Under the law, the prosecution bodies of the Russian Federation exercise supervision powers in relation to agencies for healthcare, education, guardianship and tutelage, etc.; prosecutors supervise over legality of investigation of criminal cases and take part in court hearings when criminal cases are considered by the courts.

Czech Republic/ République Tchèque: Voir réponse question 6

Cyprus/Chypre : - In Cyprus, the Attorney General’s Office is fully responsible for the prosecution policy in the Republic. In theory, the Office exercise control over all prosecutorial decisions taken by the Police, especially those concerning diversion from prosecution. In practice,[12] the Attorney General is closely dealing with only the most serious cases, and those regarded as exceptional, complex, or in need of particular attention.

- As far as the handling of juvenile cases is concerned, as early as in 1978, an agreement was reached between the Department of Social Welfare Services, the Police and the Attorney General. That evolved from the idea that, through inclusion and cooperation of a wide range of services involved in youth justice, a better decision for the best interest of the juveniles can be made. It was the result of discussions within a Commission set up for the review of the way juvenile offenders are being handled within the system, which was comprised by representatives from the Attorney General’s Office, the Ministry of Justice, the Police, the Judiciary, and the Social Welfare Services.

The principal points of that agreement were the following:

a)            When a child under the age of 14 commits a minor offence, the Police carry out a preliminary investigation in order to find out whether the child is really involved in the commission of the crime. If this is the case, then the Police refer the case to the District Welfare Officer to be dealt with by him, according to the powers that the law invests him with (see section 1.2.c and 4.2). The District Welfare Officer shall inform the Police about his decision.

b)            When a child under the age of 14 commits a serious offence or when a young person between 14 and 16 years old commits an offence (minor or serious), the Police carry out the usual investigation and they inform the parents, as well as the District Welfare Officer, who has to prepare a social report about the juvenile, giving details about his/her background, family circumstances, character, etc. In each district of the jurisdiction, a Committee is established, made up of representatives from the Police and the Social Welfare Services, responsible for reviewing all those juvenile cases and suggest whether a prosecution is advised or not. For minor cases, if there is an agreement, a final decision could be made by the Committee. For more serious cases or where there is a disagreement, the Committee’s suggestions as to the proper disposal of the cases and a review of the Social Welfare Services’ report are forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office with the relevant criminal file. Law Officers could endorse or overrule the decision of the Committee.

France: les procureurs sont destinataires des informations des services de la  protection judiciaire  de la jeunesse, des établissements d’enseignement  et des enquêtes de police concernant sur lesquels ils fondent leurs réquisitions en direction de ce mêmes services ou en direction des juges des enfants recommandations. Ils retournent  également les informations sur les suites  données aux signalements dont ils ont été destinataires.

Georgie/Georgia: Articles 55 and 56 of the CPCG define capacities of the prosecutor during investigation: prosecutor executes criminal prosecution. Prosecutor exercises procedural guidance of investigation at the pre-trial stage. Prosecutor also supervises accurate and homogenous implementation of law by operative-investigative bodies. Prosecutor’s decisions, directions and requirements issued are binding for the relevant governmental authorities, private and legal persons. Prosecutor is entitled to request and obtain the entire criminal case or separate materials; to revoke resolutions of investigator and subordinate prosecutor; to take a case from one investigator and transfer it to another; to terminate or suspend proceedings if there exists the legal  ground; conclude a plea agreement with the accused.

Lettonie/Latvia: As specified above (see answer to 5th question), Prosecutor has certain obligations and rights within the coordination of preliminary investigation procedure.

Moldova: For effectiveness of the work in protecting children's rights, successful prevention of juvenile delinquency, prosecutors coordinate and cooperate with child protection services, police, doctors and other authorized institutions in the area.

Thus, criminal law obliged the prosecutor in the criminal prosecution and trial stages of the case involved juvenile offenders, compulsory, to determine: the conditions of the minor live and education, degree of his intellectual and psychological level, his particular character and temperament, interests and needs, the influence of adults or other children on the delinquent, the causes and conditions that contributed to commit the crime. Prosecutor obtains this information from above mentioned institutions and uses them for the legal classification of the offense, establish of the penalty or alternative measures, but also in the prevention of juvenile delinquency.

Monaco : Au niveau de la coordination entre les services impliqués, le Procureur a, pour l’essentiel, une mission de centralisation des informations puisqu’il est destinataire à la fois des enquêtes policières et sociales, initie la saisine du Juge tutélaire puis le cas échéant, de la juridiction. Le faible nombre d’intervenants facilite la coopération entre ces différents services.

Allemagne/Germany : By law and in practice, prosecutors play a key role in the coordination and cooperation of the main actors in the criminal investigation process. For example in my district, I have implemented guidelines for prosecutors, which should help to protect young victims as witnesses in criminal proceedings of child abuse. Prosecutors should be sensible, well trained and fitted with some experience. They need to have contacts to colleagues who work in the same field. They should initiate and organise interdisciplinary work-shops together with the police, courts, lawyers, medicines, psychologists, public youth-authorities and private victim-protection-organisations (NGOs).  From the beginning of the investigation, police has to come into contact with the prosecutor who decides about the investigative and protective measures. The prosecutor has to inform the relevant (youth and social) authorities and family and criminal) courts. He or she has to decide about asking for pre-trial arrest or detention and for defence and victim lawyer. If a corporal inspection of the victim is needed, the prosecutor has to take care that this will be done by an experienced medicine and that the human rights of the victim are respected. The interrogation of the victim has to take into account, that these are vulnerable persons. On the other hand the prosecutor has to prevent the victim from undue influence by contact persons which may inflict the credibility of the witness in regard of the future proceedings. Generally, prosecutors should interview the victim themselves or ask a judge to do so; if possible by video-technique and in the presence of an expert on credibility of testimony to prevent a repetition of the interrogation. Prosecutors should fully inform all involved persons about their rights and duties, including civil compensation. During the court proceedings, prosecutors have to avoid the meeting of the offender and the victim outside and, if appropriate, even inside the court-room. During the court hearing, the prosecutor is responsible ( together with the judge) for a calm atmosphere. After the sentencing, prosecutors have to take the appropriate measures to avoid a recurrence of the crime.

Montenegro: - State Prosecutor administrates pre-trial proceedings which includes giving initiatives, coordinating activities of institutions in charged for disclosure of criminal offences and detection of criminal offenders. When State Prosecutor request  institution of  preliminary proceedings or when the State Prosecutor withdraw institution of the criminal proceedings against a minor, he shall notify a Center for Social Work

Republic of Macedonia/République de Macédoine: Public Prosecutor from the Center for Social Work requires a report on the personality of the juvenile and his behavior, and the Center is obligated to request of the Public Prosecutor to submit a report within one month, in which among other circumstances relating to the personality of the juvenile and his conduct, should be contained opinions and proposals regarding the decision. Before the decision, for initiation of proceedings the public prosecutor may request a special report by the Ministry of Interior of the circumstances under which the crime was committed. Public prosecutor, after prior written consent of the minor and his legal representative, defender and injured party can send the parties to mediation proceedings. If agreement is reached that the court can approve or reject.

Hongrie: In the course of their work prosecutors administer judicatory tasks provided for by the law. In criminal procedures the prosecutor acts as a public prosecutor and in the course of his/her activity cooperates with other organs and authorities, but does not act as a coordinator or organiser.

Liechtenstein: In the Liechtenstein system, there is an investigating magistrate and the public prosecutor has only indirect control of the criminal investigation.

But the prosecutor may promote and take advantage of relationships with social

services, schools and any other institution, to understand in depth the personal and family situation of the young offender and to take appropriate decisions at the end of the investigation and other possible initiatives. In any case the prosecutor will inform the relevant (youth and social) authorities. The prosecutor has to apply for pre-trial arrest or detention and the investigating magistrate has to provide a defense and victim lawyer. If an inspection of the body of the victim is needed, the prosecutor/judge has to take care that this is done by an experienced doctor and that the human rights of the victim are respected. Generally, prosecutors will ask a judge to interview the victim; if possible by video-technique and in the presence of an expert to prevent a repetition of the interrogation in the trial phase of the proceedings.

The police have to fully inform all involved persons about their rights and duties, including civil compensation. Also prosecutors and judges have to take this into account. During the court proceedings, judges have to make sure that the offender and the victim have no contact outside and, if appropriate, even inside the court-room.

Serbie: Co-operation in the course of the interest of the juvenile delinquents.

Iceland : Regarding the investigation of a case the Director of Public Prosecutions' instructions no. 9/2009, which address the role of the prosecution, are attached.

Albania/Albanie:

During the investigation process the prosecutor is in charge of controlling the process of taking declaration from minor witnesses as well as the interrogation of minor defendants. In such a role, whenever in need of examination or interrogation of minors, prosecutor affords the minor with specialized service such as the presence of a psychiatrist or the parents of the minor even though there is no compulsory provision in the law for the prosecutors to afford such help.

II.   Système de justice civile et procédures administratives / II.Civil justice system and administrative proceedings:

8.    Quel est le rôle des procureurs dans l’accès à la justice pour les mineurs ? Veuillez distinguer entre les mineurs en danger éducatif, matériel etc., qui ont besoin d’une protection par la justice, et les mineurs victimes d’infractions qui demandent réparation.

What is the role of public prosecutors as regards access to justice for juveniles? Please specify between juveniles in danger as regards their education, the living conditions, etc., for whom a judicial protection is needed, and juveniles who are victims of offences and who claim for compensation.

Belgium/ Belgique : a. - Les mineurs qui nécessitent assistance dans le cas d’une éducation problématique, peuvent s’adresser directement ou par l’intermédiaire de la police au procureur afin qu’il intervienne s’il s’agit d’un cas d’urgence ou qu’il organise une assistance volontaire.  Après une plainte d’une instance officielle, le procureur peut ordonner une investigation sur les conditions de vie du mineur.  Lorsqu’il est constaté dans l’investigation que le mineur est en danger, le procureur peut commencer une assistance volontaire ou faire appel au juge de la jeunesse.

- Quand des plaintes sont déposées pour sévices graves ou négligence par les parents, le procureur peut requérir le juge d’instruction pour collecter des preuves, engager des experts, arrêter une personne, … Le procureur peut dans le même temps prendre des mesures d’éducation pour protéger le mineur contre ses parents.

- Dans certains cas, le procureur peut saisir le tribunal au nom du mineur.  Le mineur peut formuler sa demande dans une lettre au procureur.  Cette demande concerne par exemple l’émancipation des mineurs ayant quinze ans qui n’ont plus de parents.  Le procureur peut également saisir le tribunal pour changer ou imposer des mesures concernant l’autorité parental.  Mais c’est le procureur qui décide de saisir ou de ne pas saisir le tribunal.

b. - Si le mineur est la victime d’une infraction, l’auteur peut être condamné à l’initiative du ministère public.  Pour la poursuite, une plainte formelle de la victime ou de ses parents n’est pas exigée, sauf s’il s’agit d’une infraction dont l’exercice de l’action publique est subordonnée à la plainte de la victime.  Tous ceux qui sont témoin d’une infraction, peuvent le déclarer à la police. La police peut ainsi effectuer les recherches sur base d’informations des voisins, famille, enseignants…Le procureur peut aussi effectuer une recherche sur base d’informations fournies par des instances officielles quant aux infractions dont le mineur est victime lorsque les parents n’agissent pas. Les mineurs qui ne peuvent pas se défendre, peuvent ainsi compter sur l’aide des autorités.  Pour les infractions dont l’intégrité du mineur est gravement menacée, les autorités sont obligées de poursuivre les auteurs pénalement.

- Au civil, lorsqu’un mineur est victime d’une infraction, il doit être autorisé à se constituer partie civile seul lorsque sa demande concerne un droit personnel et que son âge permet de présumer qu’il possède suffisamment de discernement (Corr. Namur, 30 juin 1994, J.L.M.B., 1994, p. 1143).        Les parents peuvent aussi saisir le juge au nom de leur enfant.  S’il y a un conflit d’intérêts, le mineur peut le communiquer au procureur, qui peut intervenir pour engager un tuteur.

La règle selon laquelle le mineur ne peut pas intervenir seul, s’applique seulement si ce mineur intente une action devant un tribunal.  Le mineur peut agir seul à la préparation du procès. Il peut, par exemple, s’enregistrer en tant que personne lésée d’une infraction.  Ainsi il est au courant des actions du ministère public.

Croatia/ Croatie : In criminal cases where a perpetrator of the criminal offence is a child (up to 14 years), where criminal responsibility is excluded, if it is necessary to protect child’s personal and family circumstances that is to prevent further delinquent behaviour, or we are dealing with a child who committed several criminal offences, State attorney’s Office initiates procedure for conducting social protective interventions  pursuant to the Family Law and monitors accomplishment and results of undertaken interventions. State Attorney’s Office may initiate the same procedure in regards to a juvenile against whom a criminal offence had been committed. As a rule, those are criminal offences against marriage, family and youth, that is criminal offences of abandonment and molestation of a child or a juvenile and violent behaviour in a family.

Danemark: None

Spain/ Espagne: Public Prosecutors are the superior supervisors of Child Protection Services´ activities (article 174 Civil Code). They can promote the adoption of protective measures of children deprived of basic necessities or abandoned, before the Child Protection Services´ and, if necessary, before the court.

Public Prosecutors must also act on behalf of a child if he lacks other legal representatives.

The role of Public Prosecutors in relation with juveniles who are victims of offences and who claim for compensation is also very important. They must promote due compensations in the name of the victim, unless the legal representatives of the victim wish to exercise the actions on their own. This also applies to all victims (juveniles or not) and to all criminal procedures (adult or juvenile cases). We have to bear in mind that in the Spanish criminal procedure, the object is not only to impose a punishment, a sanction or a measure to the perpetrator but also to determine civil compensations on behalf of the victim.

Estonia/ Estonie: It is mandatory for a counsel to participate in the whole criminal proceedings if a person has committed a criminal offence when being a minor.

The legal representative in criminal proceedings of a victim who is a minor is his or her parent or guardian, who is obliged to protect the rights and interests of the child. If damage (including moral damage) has been caused with the same criminal offence to the parent or guardian as well, they must be involved in the proceedings as victims. A natural person who is a victim may participate in criminal proceedings in person or through a representative. If the court finds that without the assistance of a lawyer, the essential interests of the victim may remain unprotected, the court may on its own initiative decide upon the provision of national legal assistance to the person.

Finlande: Public prosecutors are not involved in civil and/or administrative proceedings concerning juveniles.

Greece/ Grèce: In penal procedure, the minor who has directly suffered an offense and has completed the 12th year of age has, according to article 118 par.2 Penal Code the right to ask by himself the penal prosecution of the perpetrator, and his legal representative has the same right separately. The Prosecutor’s responsibility is to investigate if the charge presented by the minor is grounded and to exercise penal prosecution against the offender.

            Public Prosecutor, in case that perpetrator is parent or relative of the minor and there exists direct danger for his/her physical or mental health, may order any convenient measure for his/her protection until the court, to which he/she has to refer within 30 days, pronounces its judgement. He/she may also ask the Court to divest parental custody from the father or the mother who violates the duties imposed by his/her office concerning the custody of the person of the child or the administration of his/her property or who exercises this office abusively or who is not in a position to respond to it and to assign the child’s care to a third party and until the court passes a judgement, to order any convenient measure for the minor’s protection, according to article 1532 of Civil Code.

Italy/ Italie: The juvenile public prosecution office receives every information (by school, police, social service, private persons, voluntary organizations etc.) concerning child abandonment or any other detrimental situation. The prosecutor conducts the appropriate investigations and can ask the juvenile court for a procedure to verify the exertion of parental authority and to propose possible judicial interventions. He/she can also start a procedure for re-education of a child, in case of deviant behaviour.

Being a necessary party in all proceedings, the public prosecution office must give its advice before any decision by the juvenile court

Netherlands/ Pays-Bas: The public prosecutor can apply for an order placing a juvenile who is at risk under supervision for his/her own protection. The order temporarily divests parents/guardians of their responsibility.

Young people who become the victim of a criminal offence receive help and support if so desired. The public prosecutor merely plays a coordinating role by referring victims to other organisations. In the Netherlands the recently enacted Victims’ Status (Legal Proceedings) Act explicitly sets out the rights of victims of criminal offences.

Poland/ Pologne:

·         With regard to the juvenile as a victim: see the answer to Point no. 4 of this Questionnaire.

·         With regard to the juvenile’s claim for compensation:

According to the Article 49a of the Code of Criminal Procedure, each victim (not only a juvenile) and the prosecutor, can, until the end of the first interview the victim at trial, put forward a motion referred to in paragraph 1 of article 46 of the Penal Code.

Article 46 paragraph 1 of Polish Penal Code provides that, if the person is convicted of an offence causing death, serious injury to health, disturbance of bodily organ or disturbance to health, an offence against traffic safety or an offence against the environment, property or commerce, or offence against people performing jobs, the court, upon a motion from the injured person or from any other entitled person, shall impose the obligation to redress the damage caused, in whole or in part. The provision of Civil Law on the limitation of claims and the possibility to adjudicate a pension, shall not be applied.

Slovak Republic/ République Slovaque: The prosecutor´s role is by virtue of law limited in relation to persons below the age of 18 in terms of any immediate risk posed to their education, living arrangements, etc. However, if the prosecutor finds out that there is any risk posed to the life or health of a minor child, he must immediately report to the child-welfare agencies or social agencies; child-welfare agencies and social agencies shall then make sure that the child will be placed in a social facility, and will ask the court to make a court ruling in this matter. Procedures are governed and regulated in Act No. 305/2005 on the Child Welfare and Social Agencies as amended and in the Civil Procedure Code. However, the prosecutor may then exercise his powers conferred upon him by law and become a party to the pending case over the child care and custody [Sec. 35(2) item d) of the Civil Procedure Code], mainly dealing with the child support and maintenance, visitation rights, supervised or restricted parental visitation rights, denial of parental visitation rights, approval of important actions to be taken on behalf of the minor child and to the best of its legitimate interests, approval of important decisions which the parents cannot reach, foster care or residential care arrangements in children´s homes or other residential care facilities where the child has reached the age of consent, etc. When becoming a party to the court proceedings, the prosecutor may act on third-parties´ motions, or he may rely on facts he learnt himself during the examination and review of respective court records. Prosecutors become parties to civil court proceedings in those cases where a serious risk has been posed to the child´s legitimate interests or the child´s due upbringing. Most often, in Slovakia these cases involve the issues of sole custody, foster care or residential care orders, supervised or restricted parental visitation rights, denial of parental visitation rights, and grandparent visitation rights. When exercising his powers in the civil proceedings (be it the power to propose the imposition of a mandatory educational or medical treatment order or the right to become a party to the proceedings) the prosecutor always supports and promotes public interest, which the parties sometimes do not fairly present in their argumentation. The prosecutor´s role is to protect neutrality and fairness of proceedings, uniform, stable and consistent procedures and consistent decision-making policies, and thus to protect legitimate rights and interests of parties who create legal relations.

Another power that the prosecutor may exercise in civil proceedings, which involve protection of minor children´s legitimate rights and interests (even to rather a limited extent) is the power conferred upon the Prosecutor General to bring a last-resort extraordinary appeal against a final and conclusive court order in cases where the law itself or interests of individuals, legal entities or state have been violated, and the protection of such interests cannot be otherwise restored [Sec. 243e et seq. of the Civil Procedure Code]. Speaking in terms of the Family Act, such last-resort extraordinary appeal can be brought only against final and conclusive court orders on supervised or restricted parental visitation rights, denial of parental visitation rights, sole custody, paternity determination, denial of paternity or adoption.

As it results from the above, the prosecutor may exercise his powers conferred upon him by virtue of law even in civil court proceedings, be it either upon proposals and motions put forward by litigants, as a result of the examination and review of court records, or upon proposals and motions made by child-welfare agencies, social agencies, media, etc.

Like other citizens, even the minor child if aggrieved by the offence as a victim may exercise his statutory right guaranteed by applicable laws, and may report an offence to law enforcement agencies if he reasonably believes that there is a risk posed to his rights or legitimate interests, or that his rights and legitimate interests have been violated. Due to the fact the minor child´s capacity to sue and be sued is limited, law enforcement agencies must enable the presence of the child´s authorised representative, guardian, qualified teacher, social-welfare agency representative or any other authorised agent during each interview conducted in the course of investigating reported crime. If the crime was committed by the child´s relatives (his parents or foster parents, i.e. his authorised representatives who otherwise exercise the child´s rights or by other relatives), the guardian must be appointed to protect the child´s rights and legitimate interests. If there is a risk of any delay at the pre-trial stage, such guardian shall be appointed for this purpose by the pre-trial judge at the prosecutor´s request. The guardian is mainly the public body or the authorised representative of the Victim Support Service.

Under Sec. 49 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the victim must be first given a due written notice of his rights in the criminal proceedings, of available victim support organisations and of services they provide; this first-contact written notice must be given by the law enforcement agency. Moreover, law enforcement agencies and courts are obliged to provide room for the due exercise of the victim´s rights.

In order to protect child victims, the Slovak Criminal Procedure Code uses the concept of protected witness and anonymous witness. If the child victim suffered any harm, loss or damage and provided that a damages claim was made duly and on time, the prosecutor may ask the court to rule on the compensation order in the guilty verdict against the perpetrator. Compensation for damages and the obligation to reimburse costs incurred by the victim as a result of the offender´s violent criminal activities is also governed and regulated in Act No. 437/2004 on Claim Compensations and Act No. 255/1998 on the Criminal Injuries Compensation.

Romania/ Roumanie: The law no. 211/2004 on the measures of ensuring the protection of victims of offences provides as special measures: psychological counseling of the victims of certain offences and others forms of assistance for the victims of offences, upon request, ensured by the services of victims’ protection and offenders’ social reintegration, such as free legal assistance granted to certain categories of victims, upon request.

The prosecutor’s role is restricted to the judicial activity and his duties are stated in the Criminal Procedure Code and article 45 of the Civil Procedure Code.

 According to article 131 paragraph 4 of the Criminal Code, in case of offences for which the initiation of the criminal action is conditioned by the lodging of a prior complaint from the injured person and that person lacks legal competence or has a diminished legal competence, such as in the case of minors, the criminal action shall be put into motion ex officio.

As protection rules, the Criminal Procedure Code provides that the prosecutor shall exert the civil action ex officio and shall support it as well (articles 17 and 18).

Thus, the civil action shall be also initiated and exerted ex officio, when the injured person lacks legal competence or has a diminished legal competence. For this purpose, the criminal investigation body or the court shall request the injured person that, through his/her legal guardian or, if applicable, the person that approves his/her acts, to present the situation concerning the size of the material and emotional damages, as well as information regarding the deeds that caused the damages.

The court is compelled to rule ex officio on the reparation of the prejudice and emotional damages, even though the injured person did not ask for civil claims.

 Before the court, the prosecutor may also support the civil action initiated by the injured person. When the injured person lacks legal competence or has a diminished legal competence, the prosecutor, when taking part in the trial, is obliged to defend his/her civil interests, even if he/she did not ask for civil claims.

According to article 45 of the Civil Procedure Code:

“The Public Ministry may initiate the civil action whenever it is necessary to defend the legitimate rights and interests of minors, of persons laid under interdiction, of missing persons as well as in other cases expressly provided by the law.

In the case in which the prosecutor has initiated the action, the titleholder of the right to which the action refers to shall be included in the trial. He/she will be able to use the provisions foreseen in articles 246, 247 and 271-273, and if the prosecutor should withdraw the request, he/she shall be able to request the continuation of the trial.

The prosecutor may lay down conclusions in any civil trial, no matter the stage, if he considers it to be necessary in order to protect the lawful order, the rights and liberties of the citizens.

In cases specifically provided by law, it is mandatory for the prosecutor to participate and lay down conclusions.

Under the terms of the law, the prosecutor may exert the means of challenge against any decision, and in the cases provided by paragraph 1, he may request for the execution of the decisions ruled in favor of the persons mentioned in that paragraph.”

Slovenia/ Slovénie: The role of public prosecutors is that he is judicial body, which can prosecute juvenile crimes.

Sweden/ Suède: .In Sweden the prosecutors are dealing only with criminal cases. So there is no interference from prosecutors dealing with juvenile issues such as education, living issues etc unless these issues include criminal acts.

Turkey/ Turquie:

According the article 6 of the Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395)  Judicial and administrative authorities, law enforcement officers, health and education institutions and non-governmental organizations have the obligation to notify the Social Services and Child Protection Agency of any juveniles that are in need of protection. The juvenile and the persons who are responsible for the care of the juvenile can apply to the Social Services and Child Protection Agency to take the juvenile under protection.

The Social Services and Child Protection Agency has  immediately to carry out the necessary enquiry regarding the events notified to it.

In the case of crimes detected in the act that are committed against children, although these crimes may only be investigated and prosecuted pursuant to a complaint by the victim,  apprehension of the offender shall not be subject to a complaint. (Article 90 of Criminal Procedure Code   )

In case the suspect or the defendant is underage (has not attained the age of eighteen), or deaf, or mute, or is handicapped to the degree of failing to defend himself and a defense counsel cannot be arranged; a defense counsel is appointed without the requirement of his official request. (Article 150 of Criminal Procedure Code  )

After the amendments in the criminal procedure law  in  the year 2005 the criminal courts cannot sentence anymore for compensations. These fall now under the jurisdiction of the civil courts. According that the juveniles  or their representatives who demand compensation can request for  judicial  aid if they have not enough financial resources for  filing charges against the acts of injustice. ( Civil Procedural Law Article 465).

As regards Article 7 of Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395) protective and supportive court decisions regarding juveniles can be taken by the juvenile judge either ex officio  or upon the request of the juvenile’s father, mother, guardian, the person responsible for the care and supervision of the juvenile, the Social Services and Child Protection Agency or the Public prosecutor.

Before rendering a court decision, a social enquiry regarding the juvenile shall be carried out.

The type of the measure shall be indicated in the decision. The judge may decide for one or more measures.

The judge may also decide for taking under supervision the juvenile about whom he/she has decided for a protective and supportive measure.

Taking into consideration the development of the juvenile, the Judge may decide to change or abrogate the protective and supportive measure. In case of emergencies, this decision may also be rendered by the local judge where the juvenile is located. However, in such a case, the decision shall be notified to the judge or court that had rendered the original decision.

The execution of the measure shall terminate automatically when the juvenile completes age eighteen. However, the judge may decide to continue with the implementation of the measure for a certain period of time in order to allow the juvenile to continue his/her training or education, provided that the consent of the juvenile is taken.

Aside from rendering decisions for protective and supportive measures regarding juveniles that are in need of protection, the court shall also have the authority to decide with regard to custody, guardianship, warship, caretaker, trustee, alimony and personal contact, in accordance with the provisions of the Turkish Civil Code dated 22.11.2001 and numbered

-  Immediately following being informed, through denunciation or by any other means, of a condition having the impression that an offense has been committed, the Public prosecutor initiates an investigation to uncover the truth and to determine if the conditions demand the filing of a public court case.

The Public prosecutor is obligated to collect and protect all the evidence in favor of or against the suspect and to protect the rights of the suspect, through the judicial security force under his or her authority, for the investigation of the material truth and for the execution of a fair trial. (article 160 of CPC (Article 160 of Criminal Procedure Code  )

According the article 158 of the Criminal Procedure Code   Denunciations and complaints concerning offenses can be submitted to the chief public prosecutor's office or the authorities of the security force.

Denunciations and complaints submitted to the governor’s office, or the district office of the sub- governor, or the court are conveyed to the chief public prosecutor's office.

Concerning offenses committed in foreign countries that require prosecution within the country, denunciations and complaints can be submitted to the Turkish embassies and consulates.

Denunciations and complaints submitted to the relevant institutions and organizations, as a result of an offense claimed to be committed concerning the execution of a public duty, are immediately conveyed to the chief public prosecutor's office.

Denunciations and complaints can be submitted in paper, or orally to be written down in official records.

England and Wales/ Angleterre et pays de Galle:

Scotland/ Ecosse: It should be said from the outset, that the majority of issues relating to civil justice and protection of juveniles are the responsibility of local authorities, through the social work departments. The procurator fiscal will only become involved where there is the suggestion of criminal conduct, such as neglect or mistreatment of the child, or where the child has been a victim of some other crime.

In Scotland, the public prosecutor has a duty throughout the course of criminal court proceedings, under the Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2004, to ensure that the needs of the child are sufficiently met. Various measures are available to make the process less intimidating and stressful, the child may be able to give evidence through video link or behind screens, and may be accompanied by an appropriate adult.

In terms of compensation, the public prosecutor does not have a role to play in deciding upon this. Claims for compensation are dealt with by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.[13]

Ukraine: The policy of the Ukrainian state in relation to justice for juveniles mainly focuses on the educational and preventive aspects. The current laws of Ukraine provide for the special procedure of execution of justice for minors, which is regulated by provisions of the criminal procedural law (Chapter 36, Articles 432-449 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine). The said procedure establishes additional guarantee for preservation of rights and lawful interests of juveniles (the right to defense, specific procedures of detention and arrest, examination etc.), as well as regulates relief from criminal penalties or completion of sentences. Specific features of the criminal liability and punishment of juveniles are regulated by Section XV (Articles 97 – 108) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Armenia/ Arménie: Prosecutors have no any special functions on this field; they just operate within the powers granted to it by the Constitution and on the basis of the Law on Prosecutor’s office.

Portugal: voir la fin du document

Ireland/ Irlande: The Office of the DPP has no role as regards access to justice for juveniles, either for children in danger or those seeking compensation.

It should be noted, however, that under the Irish Constitution, Bunreacht na hEireann 1937, the State has, in exceptional circumstances, an obligation to intervene in the care of a child. Article 42.5 of the Irish Constitution states:

In exceptional cases, where the parents for physical or moral reasons fail in their duty towards their children, the State as guardian of the common good, by appropriate means shall endeavour to supply the place of the parents, but always with due regard for the natural and imprescriptible rights of the child.

In general, this duty is monitored by the Health Service Executive (HSE), who has a central role in Child Protection Services in Ireland. Under Part IV of the Child Care Act 1991, as inserted by section 16 of the Children Act 2001, the HSE may apply to the Courts for a Special Care Order giving authority to take a child into the care of the HSE. In situations of urgency the Gardaí may intervene to protect the safety of a child, as outlined under section 23D of the Child Care Act 1991. As noted above, the Office of the DPP has no role in this process.

Russian Federation/ Fédération de Russie: Issues of ensuring children’s safety, timely detection and suppression of violations of laws ensuring the respect for the rights of juveniles are constantly monitored by prosecution bodies. When violations of juveniles’ rights are detected (for example, as regards education) the prosecutor applies to the court, and the restoration of rights is attained by means of civil law mechanism. In case an offence has been committed against a child, it is possible to address the issue of obtaining compensation by bringing an action in a criminal case as well as after the judgement had entered into force in a civil case.

Czech Republic/ République Tchèque: Powers of the public prosecution in the non-criminal proceedings are defined by the laws adjusting the appropriate lawsuit conditions, in which the Public Prosecutor’s takes part as public prosecutors, or by virtue of entering the proceedings.

Non-criminal competence is fulfilled by presence of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in civil proceedings and performance of supervision over detention in the sections defined by law. Thus in the cases specified by law the Public Prosecutor’s Office can lodge a motion (legal action) for commencement of civil proceedings or to enter the civil proceedings in the matters enumerated in the Civil procedure Code. In cases when the civil proceedings were commenced by it motion, it is a party of these proceedings as the complainant (plaintiff) and thus it is entitled to procedural authorisations (rights) and obligations of a party of proceedings. The Public Prosecutor’s Office that entered civil proceedings is not a party of the proceedings but its special subject.

The legislator chose the non-criminal competences of Public Prosecutor's Office with regard to the areas which concern the protection of rights of persons whose rights can be threatened due to their personal or psychic qualities, where the breach of law can have a wider impact, where economy and mainly the market relations can be disturbed significantly by serious criminal activities. In these areas, which are covered by non-criminal competence, the main criterion for protection of a public interest is protection of fundamental human rights.

From the point of view of the requirement for protection of fundamental human rights, supervision of observance of legal regulations during performance of institutional and protective education and performance of detention or imprisonment sentence is of special importance.

Participation of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in the civil proceedings due to protection of human rights is necessary in the matters of social and legal protection of children. This concerns the authorisation of the Public Prosecutor’s Office  to lodge a motion for imposition of institutional education, imposition of educational measures, suspension, limitation or disqualification of parent responsibility pursuant to Family Code, for imposition of protective education according to Act on justice in the matters of the youth and act on performance of institutional education or protective education in school facilities and on preventive educational care in school facilities, for cancellation of the ordered institutional or imposed protective education pursuant to act performance of institutional education or protective education in school facilities and on preventive educational care in school facilities, for imposition of measures pursuant to Act on justice in the matters of the youth. As regards the protection of rights and interests of children as well as stability of its status conditions, legal actions of the Supreme public prosecutor concerning the paternity denial are highly significant.

In the area of protection of human rights, entering the civil proceedings which were commenced by the court without a motion or on the basis of a motion of another plaintiff in the matters of imposition of educational measure, order of institutional education, suspension, limitation or disqualification of parent responsibility, capability of legal acts, specification of acceptability of acceptance or keeping in a health care institution or determination whether it is necessary to have consent of child’s parents for his/her adoption are also important.

According to the Family Code, the basic preconditions for submitting of a proposal for inflicting of an educational measure (reprimand for the underage person, his/her parents and persons who disrupt his/her proper education; determination of supervision over the underage person; inflicting of restrictions on the underage person which will prevent any harmful impacts on his/her education, mainly visiting of facilities and entertainment not suitable for the underage with regard to his/her person) are for example the following:

a) existence of public interest in submitting of the proposal,

b) problems with the child’s behaviour or disruption of the proper education.

The public interest in submitting of the proposal exists if it applies to protection of the right of the child for favourable development and proper education and for favourable conditions of upbringing, education and universal development. 

            The basic preconditions for submitting of the proposal for ordering of institutional education are the following:

a) existence of public interest in submitting of the proposal,

b) serious threat or serious disturbance of the child’s upbringing,

c) finding out that other educational measures did not lead to reformation or that parents cannot ensure upbringing of their child due to other serious reasons, or

c) if no other educational measures proceeded, finding out that ordering of the institutional education is in interest of the underage person,

e) the fact that upbringing of a child cannot be ensured by means of the substitute family care.

            Public interest in submitting of this proposal exists if protection of the right of the child for favourable development and proper education and for favourable conditions for upbringing, education and universal development, employment, protection against any physical or mental violence, negligence, abuse or exploitation cannot be ensured by the substitute family care.

            The basic preconditions for submitting of a proposal for suspension of parent responsibility pursuant to act on family are the following:

a) the fact that a serious obstacle prevents a parent to perform his/her parent responsibilities and

b) existence of an interest of the child for submitting of such a proposal.

            The basic preconditions for submitting of a proposal for deprivation of parent responsibility according to Family Code are the following:

a) the fact that a parent misuses his/her parent responsibility or its implementation or neglects it in a serious way, or

b) the fact that a parent committed an intentional criminal offence against his/her child or used his/her child under fifteen for committing a criminal offence or committed a criminal offence as an accomplice, or incited or assisted committing of a criminal offence committed by his/her child. 

            When assessing the public interest in submitting of the above specified proposals, it is necessary to take into consideration the fact that  

a) the main principle of legal protection of children is a principle of preventive influence on family relations if they are interfered with in such a way that operation of public authority is possible, 

b) it is necessary that the forms of activities and instruments of legal protection would enable helping the child or parents or the whole family without disturbing privacy of the family and mainly the primary right of parents to look after their children, to bring them up together and to make such decisions which are beneficial for children,

c) legal protection of children must not mean any inadequate interference in the family privacy

d) it is necessary to consider the degree of interference from the state (and its bodies) during solution of various social events in which the children and their parents happen to be, mainly in case the life and health of the child are threatened

e) use of the means of operation of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in the area of care for children and social and legal protection of children are governed with the principle of lawfulness and awareness of the fact that the main aspect is the highest well-being of the child.

In the area of social and legal protection of children, the Public Prosecutor’s Office is mainly obliged to

a) inform a body of social and legal protection about breach of obligations or misusing of the rights arising from the parent responsibility and about the fact that parents cannot fulfil their obligations arising from their parent responsibility,

b) provide adequate help to a child who asks for it,

c) enable exercise of the right of the child for free expression of his/her opinion for the purposes of social and legal protection and to pay attention to this expression,

d) within its competence, provide assistance to a parent or another person responsible for upbringing of the child, if they ask the Public prosecutor’s Office for help,

e) inform the municipal office with extended competence about the facts suggesting that it is a child to whom social and legal protection must be provided.

If, as a consequence of a crime, a child was injured, or incurred damage to property, moral or other damage, it is, by virtue of Section 43, Paragraph 1 of the Code of Criminal proceedings, seen as an injured person and, as such, is entitled to its statutory representative or guardian exercising the injured person's rights under the Code of Criminal proceedings on its behalf.

When supervising the preparatory proceedings, a public prosecutor must see to it that the injured persons may exercise their rights.

Cyprus/Chypre: - The Director of Social Welfare Services is empowered by legislation to take juveniles in danger into his/her care. The Children Law/Cap. 352, as well as the regulations governing the policy of the Social Services Department,  provide for various measures that Social Services can take in relation to a child in need of care, without judicial proceedings. Τhe priority lies with the forms of voluntary assistance for families and children with behavioral problems, such as counseling, day-care of children to foster families etc. 

Only if the possibilities for voluntary assistance are exhausted or insufficient, measures will be imposed as a result of judicial proceedings. The Children Law/Cap. 352 provides that a social welfare officer can bring a child to a Juvenile Court and the Court has the following choices available:

  • order the child to be sent to a reform school,
  • commit the child to the care of a fit person,
  • order his parent or guardian to enter into a recognizance to exercise proper care and guardianship,
  • place the child for a specified period not exceeding three years under the supervision of a welfare officer or a probation officer.

The Director of Social Welfare Services is represented in Court by officers of the Attorney General’s Office.

(Note: According to Law 74(I)/2007, the Commissioner for Children’s Rights has competence and responsibility, inter alia, to represent children and their interests in procedures affecting them and to be appointed by the court as their representative.)

France: les procureurs reçoivent les signalements concernant les mineurs en danger éducatif , moral ou sanitaire et saisissent les services compétents  (les services du Conseil Général du département, structure administrative locale ).

Georgie/Georgia: N/A

Lettonie/Latvia: According to the Part 1, Section 16 of the Prosecution Office Law, Prosecutor has obligation to take examination in case if information is received on possible infringement of juvenile’s interests. According to the Part 2, Section 17 of the Prosecution Office Law Prosecutor, if he/she finds the breach of law, taking into consideration the nature of offence, has an obligation to warn about law breach, lodge protest or application on necessity to prevent law breach, lodge application with the court, institute the criminal procedure or institute examination regarding application of administrative or disciplinary liability.

            According to the Section 22 of the Criminal Procedure Law person, including juvenile, who has been caused a harm by the criminal offence, taking into consideration caused moral infringement, physical pains and pecuniary damages, are safeguarded the procedural possibilities for requesting and receiving of moral and pecuniary compensation.

Moldova: National legislation requires the prosecutor to undertake effective measures in the implementation and observance of legislation on protection of child rights and fundamental interests, implementation to the child of the principle of human, appropriate and fair treatment. To this end, the prosecution's efforts are concentrated on protecting rights and fundamental interests of the child, in particular the right to life, physical and mental integrity, to education, employment and social protection, protection from abuse and violence, economic and sexual exploitation. In case of injury to the rights and interests of children prosecutors are involved immediately for child protection, restoring rights and settle causes and conditions that favored the violations of law. Also prosecutor interfere with the reactionary acts in the case of breaching the rights of children in orphanages, pensions and other residential institutions for placement of children with special needs.

Prosecutor under her duties, when identifying children who need special protection and, according to those needs, is entitled to submit in court actions in the interests of the child on the decline of parental rights, taking of child without decline of this rights,  child's placement in a residential institution when the child remained without parental care or, in the interest of education, can not be left in the existing family environment and in other cases of damage to children's rights, such as breach of legislation on granting allowances, pensions, social facilities and other aid to children and families with children.

Monaco : Le Procureur est destinataire des signalements de mineurs en danger soit qu’ils soient victimes, soit auteur d’infractions mettant en évidence le danger dans lequel ils se trouvent, émanant de divers intervenants : services sociaux, enseignants, … et peut soit saisir directement le Juge tutélaire aux fins de voir ordonner par ce magistrat toutes mesures de protection, soit ordonner des enquêtes policières et/ou sociales sur la situation. Au niveau des mineurs victimes, le Parquet dispose également de la possibilité de saisir le Juge tutélaire pour que des mesures de soutien comme par exemple des mesures d’assistance éducative soient prises, soit requérir la désignation d’un administrateur ad-hoc, soit au travers du bureau d’assistance judiciaire faire désigner un avocat au mineur victime.

Allemagne/Germany : In civil and administrative proceedings prosecutors do not play a legally binding role. Specialised juvenile authorities and guardian courts take care of young persons if needed. Prosecutors have the obligation to inform the appropriate authorities, parents or guardian courts in course of the criminal cases they have to work on. So they may initiate guardianships or administrative, educational or pedagogical measures. Every victim of an offence gets written information about the rights of compensation by the prosecution service.

Montenegro: - New Law on Juvenile Justice contains special provisions on the juveniles as injured persons in criminal procedure. In the Law are listed 34 criminal offences for which is typical that during the procedure  could lead to the severe injures for a juvenile and those criminal offences are enshrined in following chapters of the Criminal Code: criminal offences against life and body, criminal offence against freedoms and rights of man and the citizen, criminal acts against sexual freedoms, criminal acts against marriage and family, criminal offences against public order, criminal offences against humanity and rights guaranteed under international law. In the case when this criminal offences injured juvenile, actions will be carried out by persons with specific knowledge in the area of rights of the child and criminal protection of juvenile. In the draft Law it is prescribed that juvenile injured in the criminal proceedings will be heared with help of psychologist, pedagogue or other expert. Moreover, if he deems necessary, judge for juveniles can decide to hear juvenile without presence of parties using technical means for transfer of sound and picture.

Republic of Macedonia/République de Macédoine: Prosecutor does not participate in the proceedings to protect the younger or older juvenile at risk, but do the Centers for Social Affairs in coordination with the MOI and the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. The conversation lead representative of the professional team or professional team composed of teacher, social worker, psychologist and graduate lawyer. The conversation required to attend a lawyer who defends the rights and interests of the child or younger or older juvenile at risk. Legal assistance for the child or younger or older minor risk is free. For all offenses of the Penal Code in which according to the legal features of the crime a minor appears as victim, court and other bodies participating in the proceedings including the Prosecutor is obliged to take measures for protection and to act in a manner which would avoid the possible harmful effects on his personality and development. The procedure for offenses in which the juveniles is the victim, is urgent.

Hongrie: Apart from their task related to criminal justice juvenile prosecutors bear a wide scope of judicial supervisory competence. In compliance with this they supervise the enforcement of children’s rights granted by the legislation of the Republic of Hungary and the legitimacy of the extra-procedural enforcement of certain criminal statutes. In case of circumstances indicating abuse of juveniles, juvenile prosecutors take the necessary child protection measures without delay and inspect whether the law enforcement authority had fulfilled its reporting obligation.

Pursuant to the Criminal Code of Hungary if a person obligated to rearing, guidance or care of a minor seriously breaches his/her duty in this aspect and endangers the mental, emotional and moral growth of the minor, the act is regarded as a separate offence. On suspicion of such a crime only the juvenile prosecutor is entitled to act. In the course of the criminal proceeding the prosecutor can enforce the civil claim - related to the caused damage of the crime - of the minor injured party or his/her legal representative.

Liechtenstein: None

Serbie: The public prosecutors does not play any role in the civil cases proceedings because it has to do with the private interest, but exceptionally they can initiate the civil proceedings for protection of the juvenile interest (Example: the proceedings for the deprivation of the parental rights due to the severe disregard or abuse of juveniles) and they can also initiate the administrative proceedings or the proceedings before the magistrates for minor offences.

Iceland : The role of prosecutors and police as regards access to justice for juveniles is to collaborate with the child protection committees and to provide assistance in resolving cases. This is stipulated in Article 20 of the Child Protection Act no. 80/2002.

Juveniles who are victims in criminal offences have the right to special legal counsel; cf. Section V of Act no. 88/2008 on Criminal Procedure. Such legal counsel must be an attorney at law who protects the interests of the victim at the investigation and judicial levels. The legal counsel assists in the lodging of damage and suffering claims, cf. Section XXVI of the same act, which addresses civil claims.

The Director of Public Prosecutions has also issued Rules nr. 9/2009 concerning coercive measures taken against children under the age of 15 and Article 6 states the following on civil law claims: “It should be kept in mind that the provisions of Section XXVI of the Act on Criminal Procedure regarding civil law claims do not apply to the case of a child that is not criminally chargeable due to his/her age.”

Albania/Albanie: What is the role of public prosecutors as regards access to justice for juveniles? Please specify between juveniles in danger as regards their education, the living conditions, etc., for whom a judicial protection is needed, and juveniles who are victims of offences and who claim for compensation.

9.    Dans votre pays, y a-t-il des situations touchant les mineurs dans lesquelles les procureurs peuvent diligenter des enquêtes de leur propre initiative ? Si oui, veuillez préciser.

In your country, are there situations affecting juveniles where public prosecutors can initiate ex-officio investigations? If yes, please specify.

Belgium/ Belgique : En cas d’urgence, les procureurs peuvent diligenter des enquêtes si une des conditions suivantes est remplie :

-       le problème est tellement sérieux ou urgent que des mesures d’assistance sont absolument nécessaire ;

-       l’intégrité physique et morale du mineur est en danger ;

-       l’assistance sur base volontaire n’est pas possible immédiatement.

Croatia/ Croatie : Criminal proceedings against a juvenile are initiated for all criminal offences only upon the request of a State Attorney. From criminal offences where procedure is conducted upon the request or a private suit, proceedings may be initiated if an authorized person (natural or legal) submitted proposal for initiating proceedings to competent state attorney within 3 months from the day the perpetrator or criminal offence came to his/her knowledge. In criminal proceedings against a juvenile injured person cannot take the place of a prosecutor. If a State Attorney assesses that there are no grounds to request initiation of criminal proceedings against a juvenile (reported act is not a criminal offence prosecuted ex officio, statue of limitation or the offence is under amnesty or pardon, there are other circumstances that exclude guilt or criminal prosecution or there is no reasonable suspicion that a juvenile committed reported criminal offence), injured person will be notified and he/she may in the priod of eight (8) days from the time notice was received request the Youth Council of the higher court to initiate proceedings against a juvenile. When Council decides to initiate proceedings, competent State Attorney will take over proceedings against a juvenile.

Denmark/ Danemark: No

Spain: Espagne: Public Prosecutors can initiate ex officio investigations not only in criminal cases but also in situations where a child can be suffering a situation of deprivation, abandonment, neglect care etc, when it can be necessary to adopt a protective measure.

Public Prosecutors also can promote ex officio legal actions when the honour, image, or privacy of a child has been infringed by mass media (article 4 Law 1/1996 on legal protection of minors) and in other cases concerning children fundamental rights violation.

Estonia/ Estonie : In Estonia, prosecutor’s offices have no competence outside criminal proceedings. However, in Estonia applies the principle of legality, i.e. a prosecutor is obliged to initiate criminal proceedings if the elements of criminal offence become evident.

Finland/ Finlande: Public prosecutors are not involved in civil and/or administrative proceedings concerning juveniles.

Greece/ Grèce: If there are suspicions that some minor is victim of sexual or physical abuse, Public Prosecutor ex officio orders holding of investigagion (preliminary investigation) for detecting the perpetration or not of criminal actions against minors and finding and apprehension of perpetrators. He, moreover, orders special examination of the minor’s mental or/and physical condition and if it is deemed necessary, he also orders the therapy of the minor. In addition, if Public Prosecutor deems it necessary for the defence of the minor victim, orders the removal of the perpetrator from the victim’s environment or of the victim from the perpetrator’s environment and his/her temporary residence in a protected environment, as well as the prohibition of communication between perpetrator and victim, in application of disposition of article 1532 par.3 of Civil Code.

Italy/ Italie: Yes. See §§ 7, 8 and 10.

Netherlands/ Pays-Bas: Yes, the public prosecutor can initiate an investigation and prosecute a suspect ex proprio motu where no criminal complaint has been laid, but where in view of the nature and gravity of the suspected offence, there are sufficient grounds for investigation.

Poland/ Pologne: According to the Article 23 of the Polish Code of Criminal Procedure, in the case of an offence committed on a juvenile injury, or in co-operation with a juvenile, or in circumstances which may be indicative of demoralisation of a juvenile or of a demoralising influence over a juvenile, the court, and in the preparatory proceedings the public prosecutor, shall inform the family court to consider the measures prescribed in the provisions on the proceedings in juveniles cases and in the Family and Custodianship Code.

Slovak Republic: République Slovaque: In the civil proceeding, the only proposal which can be put forward by the prosecutor of his own motion is a request that a court rule on the mandatory court-ordered educational or medical treatment [Sec. 35(1) item e) of the Civil Procedure Code, Sec .105 of the Criminal Procedure Code].

Under Sec. 105 of the Criminal Code the court shall rule on the mandatory court-ordered educational or medical treatment (also upon the prosecutor´s proposal) in civil proceedings with respect to the minor child aged between 12 – 14 years if such person committed a crime for which a life sentence can be imposed on an adult offender. The court may (but does not have to) do so if a court-ordered treatment is necessary with a view to safeguarding due upbringing of the child below the age of 14 who acted in a way that would otherwise be classified as an offence.

Romania/ Roumanie: Yes. Against the minors who committed criminal deeds, the prosecutor can order the custody measure or another preventive measure, and as regards the minor victims, he may request the enforcement of protection measures, notifying the competent authorities. If he orders preventive measures against the minors’ parents, he has the obligation to notify the competent bodies in order to enforce the measures for the child’s protection.

Slovenia/ Slovénie: Basic principle in our criminal system is that state prosecutors do not only have the right to prosecute, but obligation to prosecute, when act that is prosecuted ex-officio has bee committed. As we have mentioned earlier, with juvenile crimes there is possibility not to prosecute, but the victim of such crime does not have the right to prosecute instead of prosecutor, as is the case when prosecuting adult perpetrators. The only possibility for the continuation of the procedure is the proposal from the victim to the panel of judges, which then makes the decision, if the procedure will continue without state prosecutor.

Sweden/ Suède: The prosecutor may initiate a criminal investigation ex officio. For example if he or she reads in a newspaper that a crime has been committed but there has been no report to the Police.

Turkey/ Turquie: The public prosecutor can act in normal conditions ex officio .

 (1) Immediately following being informed, through denunciation or by any other means, of a condition having the impression that an offense has been committed, the Public prosecutor initiates an investigation to uncover the truth and to determine if the conditions demand the filing of a public court case.

(2) The public prosecutor is obligated to collect and protect all the evidence in favor of or against the suspect and to protect the rights of the suspect, through the judicial security force under his or her authority, for the investigation of the material truth and for the execution of a fair trial. (Article 160  of Criminal Procedure Code)

The public prosecutor can perform all types of investigations directly or through the judicial security forces under his command; can request any information from any public functionary to reach the results indicated in the above Article. The public prosecutor requests the execution of the said operations from the relevant public prosecutor responsible for the location, if a requirement to perform an operation outside the jurisdiction of the court arises due to his or her legal duties.

Judicial security force authorities are obligated to immediately inform the relevant public prosecutor under whom they function, of the cases they have taken charge of, of the people they have apprehended and the precautions practiced; and to carry out the orders concerned with the administration of justice given by this Public prosecutor without delay.

The Public prosecutor issues his or her orders to the judicial security force officers in paper; or orally or in case of emergencies. An order given orally is issued in paper as well, in the shortest time possible.

Other public functionaries are also obligated to provide the information and the documents required within the scope of the investigation being conducted, to the Public prosecutor without delay.

Direct investigations are conducted by the Public prosecutors, concerning public functionaries for whom improper exploitation or negligence in their duties or works related to the administration of justice appointed to them by the Law or required of them at the legal offices, and security force supervisors or officers for whom improper exploitation or negligence in the oral and written requests and orders given by the Public prosecutors have been determined. The provisions of the Law about the Adjudication of Civil Servants and Other Public Officers are administered for governors and sub-governors; the procedures of exercise of jurisdiction judges are subject to due to the duties are administered concerning senior security force supervisors.

Under conditions of flagrante delicto requiring severe sentences, provided that the provisions of this Law are applied, the administration of investigations for individual offenses of governors and sub-governors according to the general provisions is under the jurisdiction of the Public prosecutors of the province the sub-governor is related to and of the closest province to the governor’s area of office. For conducting of trials concerning such offenses, the appointed court of the location of investigation is authorized.

Article 7 of       Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395) foresees that protective and supportive court decisions regarding juveniles can be taken by the juvenile judge either ex officio or upon the request of the juvenile’s father, mother, guardian, the person responsible for the care and supervision of the juvenile, the Social Services and Child Protection Agency or the Public prosecutor.

measure.

The judge or the court may, ex officio  or upon the request of the Public prosecutor, examine the results of the measure being implemented with regard to the juvenile, and abrogate, extend or change the measure.

When considers necessary during investigation, the Public prosecutor may file a request to the juvenile judge for a protective and supportive measure regarding the juvenile. (Article 15 of Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395) )

England and Wales/ Angleterre et le pays de Galle:

Scotland/ Ecosse: If it is suspected that the juvenile may be subject to abuse, mistreatment or neglect then the police may carry out an investigation, either on their own initiative through a complaint made or through the suggestion of the local authority social work department. The police may then report this to the procurator fiscal, who would decide on how and whether to proceed with a prosecution, as outlined above.

Ukraine: Specific authorities of the prosecution agencies are justified by the fact that minors cannot protect their rights by themselves; their representatives in law often ignore their duties of children protection. Acting within limits of their competence, prosecutors can open criminal cases, issue acts of the prosecutor’s response (orders, protests, submissions), raise issues on bringing individuals who affected the rights of children, to liability, file claims on behalf of minors (Article 121 of the Constitution of Ukraine, Articles 20-24 of the Law of Ukraine On Prosecutor’s Service) in order to protect rights and interests of children. Thus, the Ukrainian law contains provisions on criminal liability for persistent failure to perform duties related to the care of a child (Article 166 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and abuse of the rights of guardian (Article 167 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

Last year, the prosecutor’s services initiated 1,700 criminal cases aimed at protection of children, issued more than 18,000 response documents, secured remuneration of social and other benefits to the amount of UAH 55 million, and restored rights of 185,000 children.

Prosecutors also perform representative functions; for example, prosecutors take part in all cases dealing with deprivation of the parental rights and adoption.

Armenia/ Arménie: Police officers and investigators both investigate crimes. Their roles overlap, but are not identical.   Investigators are posted in every province, under the authority of the head of the Department of General Investigation in the capital. They do not answer to the head of the police in the province in question.

As in most countries, the police have the power to detain for purposes of investigation persons “suspected in immediate [commission] of crime”, i.e. those caught in the act of committing an offence, identified by an eye-witness or found in possession of evidence of the offence shortly after an offence, those who flee the scene of a crime, or who not resident of the area where the offence occurred or cannot identified. Whether they are adults or juveniles, such persons may be detained by the police for 72 hours without a court order.

In addition, the police have a broader power to “institute a criminal case” and carry out an “inquiry” regarding reported crimes. The aim of an inquiry, which must be completed within 10 days, is to collect evidence of the crime and “discover” the offender. In the exercise of this function, police officers may take suspects into custody and interrogate them. If the police obtain sufficient evidence to charge a suspect, the case is forwarded to the Department of General Investigation.

When a case is forwarded to the Department of General Investigation, investigators carry out - or complete - a preliminary investigation. The preliminary investigation begins when a decision to “initiate criminal prosecution” has been made, and may last two months. Investigators have authority to detain and interrogate suspects during the preliminary investigation, but only for 72 hours. Further deprivation of liberty can only be authorised by a court once the suspect is charged, thus becoming an accused. The preliminary investigation ends when the case is forwarded through the prosecutor to the court for indictment, or closed.

Suspects and accused persons have the right to an attorney as from the time of detention or accusation, and to have an attorney present during interrogation. The participation of a defence attorney in criminal proceedings is mandatory (i.e. cannot be waived) if the suspect or accused was a juvenile at the time of the offence.

Relatives of detained juvenile suspects must be informed immediately, and have the right to visit. If the detainee is under the age of 16, parents also have the right to be present when he or she is interrogated. If the presence of parents cannot be arranged, a representative of the Guardianship and Tutelage Council should take their place. In practice, however, this does not always occur.

Portugal: voir la fin du document

Ireland/ Irlande: No

Russian Federation/ Fédération de Russie: The Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation established specific terms for consideration of cases by the court, but the prosecution bodies are not entitled to expedite the consideration of a case.

Czech Republic/ République Tchèque: Code of Criminal proceedings stipulates that public prosecutors are obliged to prosecute in all cases of criminal acts of which they learn, unless an act of Parliament or promulgated international convention to which the Czech Republic is bound states otherwise. The principle of legality, which is in question here, is a consequence of the principle of public office regarding the initiation of criminal proceedings

Cyprus/Chypre: - If there is a suspicion/allegation for the commission of an offence regarding which a juvenile is in anyway involved, as in any other case, the Attorney General is empowered to order the Police to initiate a criminal investigation.

- It is the responsibility of the Social Welfare Services to examine cases (ex officio or after a complaint) where children’s physical and psychological integrity is in danger due to inadequate family care and/or other factors.

France: oui à chaque fois qu’un procureur a des raisons de penser qu’un mineur est en danger

Georgie/Georgia: No.

Lettonie/Latvia: (see answer to question 8, part 1)

Moldova: National law allows to prosecutor the right to initiate an investigation at its own motion and ex-officio in case of rights violations specified in p.8 (of this letter), including, to start criminal prosecution, even if the victim has not filed a complaint, because of inability or limited exercise capacity, the state of helplessness or dependence on suspect or from other reasons is unable to defend their legitimate rights and interests.

Monaco : Le Procureur peut, de sa propre initiative, diligenter des enquêtes concernant des mineurs dès lors qu’il a connaissance de faits pouvant mettre en cause un mineur tant en qualité de victime que d’auteur.

Allemagne/Germany : According to German law, ex-officio investigations have to be initiated by     the prosecution service only if there is a supporting fact that a crime has been committed. For example, if a child has died by negligence of the parents and public authorities have had knowledge of family problems before, prosecutors may start a criminal investigation against the responsible officials. 

Montenegro: - For all criminal offences a juvenile proceedings shall be instituted only upon a request of the State Prosecutor.  For criminal offences prosecuted upon a private complaint, the proceedings may be instituted if the injured party has submitted the motion for the institution of the proceedings within a term specified by Article 51 of the Criminal Procedure Code to the competent State Prosecutor.   If the State Prosecutor does not submit a request for the institution of juvenile proceedings, he shall notify the injured party thereof. The injured party may not assume the prosecution or submit a private complaint to the Court, but he may, within a term of eight days from the day of receiving the notification from the State Prosecutor, request that a Panel for juveniles of the Competent Court decide on the institution of the proceedings.

Republic of Macedonia/République de Macédoine: Public prosecutor ex officio proceeds in all cases when the juvenile has committed a crime. If it is a crime for which is prescribed a fine or prison sentence to three years there is a possibility for mediation, which initiates the public prosecutor.

Hongrie: The pretention for punishment is vindicated by the public prosecutor, entitled to prosecution and bringing charges. If legal conditions for the procedure exist, the juvenile prosecutor is not only entitled but is also obliged to initiate a criminal proceeding (bring charges and prosecute) regardless of the crime and the perpetrator.

Investigation is commenced on a complaint or ex officio information of the law enforcement authority or the prosecutor. Juvenile prosecutors can initiate an investigation ex officio if they learn about facts which – if true - perform the factum of a crime.

Liechtenstein: According to the principle of legality laid down in Liechtenstein law, ex-officio investigations have to be initiated by the prosecution service if there is a suspicion that a crime has been committed. This suspicion can arise from complaints by a victim or any other person of from media reports.

Serbie: The public prosecutor takes part in the ex-officio investigations by proposing to the court the measures that should be implemented on the juveniles, same did he control the course of their execution and their effects.

Iceland : Yes, in Article 52 of Act no. 88/2008 on Criminal Procedure there are general rules on investigations in Section VII.  Article 52 states that the police investigate criminal offences unless otherwise provided by law. It also states that  whenever needed, the police shall launch investigation on grounds of knowledge or suspicion on a culpable offence having been committed, irrespective of whether the police receive a complaint or not. The police shall furthermore investigate deaths of persons, disappearance of persons, fires, accidents and other mishap, even though there does not exist suspicion of culpable conduct. The Director of Public Prosecutions or a district prosecutor may also each issue instructions to the police on the launching of an investigation, cf. Article 21, paragraph 3, and Article 23, paragraph 4. The division of duties between the National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police and the police in individual districts is as provided for by law and rules set on grounds of law. A complaint over a culpable offence or a request for investigation can be directed to the police or the prosecution. Conduct is not culpable unless the victim demands the launching of criminal proceedings in which instance investigation shall not be launched unless he/she demands it.

In Act no. 80/2002 in Respect of Children there are rules on the police´s duty to notify the Child Protection Committee when questioning children.  Article 18 specifies that if the police become aware that a child is living in unacceptable conditions, that he/she is subjected to harassment or violence, or that a child is seriously jeopardizing his/her health, the police shall notify the Child Protection Committee accordingly. If suspicion exists of culpable conduct, either by a child or against the child, immediately upon receiving such case for procedure the police shall notify the Child Protection Committee and give the committee an opportunity to follow the investigation of the case. The Child Protection Committee shall inform the parents of the child about such a case provided the interests of the child do not oppose this. A representative of the Child Protection Committee shall be given opportunity to be present during the questioning of a child, who is a victim or a witness. This applies both to questioning taking place at police premises or in court. In other respects, the questioning of a child is subject to the provisions of the Act on Criminal Procedure and the regulations set on grounds of the this law.

The police and prosecution are linked so collaboration with child protection committees is also the prosecutions duty, see Article 20 of the Child Protection Act no. 80/2002 which states that “the police are obligated to collaborate with the child protection committees and to provide assistance in resolving cases.”

Albania/Albanie: The prosecutors are entitled by CPC to initiate ex-officio any investigation without any restriction and with no specification relating to the subjects affected by the crimes under investigation.

10.  Quel est le rôle spécifique du procureur dans l’application des mesures de protection éducatives au regard des mineurs ? Dans ce cadre, les procureurs sont-ils en relation avec d’autres instances ou organisations, comme par exemple les foyers d’hébergement, les établissement d’enseignement, et comment sont organisés leurs contacts avec ceux-ci (correspondants désignés, numéro de téléphone gratuit, etc.)?

What is the specific role of public prosecutors in applying protective and educative measures towards juveniles? Within the framework, are public prosecutors in relations with other instances or bodies such as, for instance, community homes, schools and how are their contacts with these bodies organised (designated correspondents, free telephone line, etc)?

Belgium/ Belgique : Le parquet se situe au carrefour de la protection de la jeunesse.  Il est à la fois le fournisseur du juge – puisque c’est lui qui apprécie s’il y a lieu ou non de traduire le jeune devant le juge – et le fondé du pouvoir de la loi, car chargé de l’exécution des mesures prises par le juge.  Il est donc l’intermédiaire nécessaire entre le jeune, sa famille, les services extérieurs, les services de police et les juges de la jeunesse.

En date du 1er septembre 2006, des criminologues sont entrés en fonction au sein des différents parquets de Belgique.  Ils exercent une mission d’assistance aux magistrats des sections famille-jeunesse des parquets pour les matières relatives à la délinquance juvénile, à l’absentéisme scolaire et à la maltraitance d’enfants.  Leurs tâches consistent, sur le plan structurel, en l’établissement de contacts avec les intervenants judiciaires et extrajudiciaires, ainsi que, dans le cadre des dossiers individuels qui leur sont soumis, en la formulation d’avis à l’attention des magistrats du parquet.

Croatia/ Croatie : Contacts between State attorney’s Offices and other institutions or bodies dealing with juvenile population are mainly carried out in regard to contact in specific cases, regardless of the side who initiated contact. Situation is identical in criminal cases committed against children and juveniles.

Danemark: None

Spain/ Espagne:

Estonie : See previous answers. Before making a decision about a suspect who is a minor, a prosecutor orders a report from the probation officer, the purpose of which is to provide the prosecutor with additional information in order to enable the prosecutor to make a correct procedural decision about the minor.

Finland/ Finlande: Public prosecutors are not involved in civil and/or administrative proceedings concerning juveniles.

Greece/ Grèce: There is no direct collaboration between the Minors Public Prosecutor for the application of protective and formative measures for the reinforcing of minors by public and private agents, as welfare services, schools, institutions, drug rehabilitation centres, etc. This role has been assumed by Minors Supervisors and Social Workers of the Municipalities and Prefectures of the country.

Italy/ Italie: The public prosecution office is the only body (apart from parents and relatives of the interested child) that can start a procedure in front of the juvenile court. In the investigation phase, it consults all the competent agencies to know the personal and family situation of the child and, when a child is the victim of a crime at home, it coordinates its action with the public prosecution office in charge of the case concerning adults.

Netherlands/ Pays-Bas: The public prosecutor can apply for an order placing a juvenile who is at risk under supervision for his/her own protection. The order /temporarily divests parents / guardians of their responsibility, the juvenile will be placed in the most appropriate care setting. The public prosecutor plays a coordinating role, advising and referring, and possibly contacting the relevant organisations. A number of these work closely with the Public Prosecution Service, including the probation service, youth care offices, and the Child Protection Board. Many of these organisations are under the authority of the Ministry of Justice.

Poland/ Pologne: Measures of this type have been prescribed by the Act on the proceedings in juveniles cases. This kind of activity is conducted by the family court and the family judge.

Slovak Republic/ République Slovaque: A new concept introduced by the Criminal Code after its reform is the punitive-educational protective order, which is imposed on the juvenile offender after assessing the gravity of the offence and the juvenile offender´s attitude, and after due consideration of the envisaged effect of the punitive-educational protective order on the juvenile offender´s behaviour. At the pre-trial stage, such measures may be with the juvenile offenders´ consent imposed by prosecutors; offender´s behaviour is thereafter carefully monitored and supervised at the pre-trial stage. The prosecutor´s decision to impose the punitive-educational protective order (various obligations and restrictions) in a form of a formal resolution must be duly served on the juvenile offender, his authorised representative and child-welfare agency, because only the child-welfare agency may coordinate the implementation of punitive-educational protective orders and restrictions set out in Sec. 107 of the Criminal Code (probation under the supervision of the probation and mediation officer, compensation and indemnification for loss or damage, community service orders, psychotherapy, mandatory enrolment in social training programmes, educational programmes, retraining courses or any other programmes aimed at the development of the juvenile offender´s skills and personality, etc.) If the punitive-educational protective order is imposed by the prosecutor in a form of a reprimand, such measure will be duly recorded in writing and such written record shall be signed by the juvenile offender and his authorised representative. The juvenile offender may at anytime withdraw his consent to the punitive-educational protective order, as a result of which such punitive-educational protective order shall be deemed to have ceased by virtue of law. Should the prosecutor find out that the juvenile offender is unable to comply with such punitive-educational protective order as a whole or in time (whether for objective or subjective reasons), the prosecutor may dismiss or change such measure.

The prosecutor usually communicates with bodies implementing such punitive-educational protective orders in writing, but there are also other forms of communication between these bodies and prosecutors specialised in juvenile crime during the office hours.

If the child-welfare agencies, social agents or civil courts impose punitive-educational protective orders on juvenile offenders below the age of 14 upon the prosecutor´s proposal, the compliance with such orders is monitored and supervised by the issuing authority.

Romania/ Roumanie: According to article 63 letter g) of the Law No.304/2004, “The Public Ministry shall exercise the following powers by means of public prosecutors: (…) g) to defend the legitimate rights and interests of minors, of persons laid under interdiction, of missing persons and other persons, under the terms of the law (…)

The prosecutor does not participate at the enforcement of the educational and protection measures for the minors; he is merely a criminal investigation body. His role is restricted to the judicial activity.

The educational and protection measures are ordered by the court. The prosecutor may participate in the trial and may lodge requests and lay down suitable conclusions for the minor’s protection. He may also exert the means of challenge, provided by the law, against the decisions ruled in these cases.

Slovenia/ Slovénie: See the answer 6.

Sweden/ Suède: As mentioned above, the prosecutors are dealing only with criminal matters. So thy don´t have a role in applying protective and educative measures towards juveniles. Nor are they in relations with other instances or bodies such as community homes, schools etc. These tasks are executed by the social authorities and can also be executed by the Police.

Turkey/ Turquie: Judicial and administrative authorities, law enforcement officers, health and education institutions and non-governmental organizations have the obligation to notify the Social Services and Child Protection Agency of any juveniles that are in need of protection. The juvenile and the persons who are responsible for the care of the juvenile can apply to the Social Services and Child Protection Agency to take the juvenile under protection.

The Social Services and Child Protection Agency shall immediately carry out the necessary enquiry regarding the events notified to it. (Article 6 of Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395)

Protective and supportive court decisions regarding juveniles can be taken by the juvenile judge either ex officio  or upon the request of the juvenile’s father, mother, guardian, the person responsible for the care and supervision of the juvenile, the Social Services and Child Protection Agency or the Public prosecutor. Article 7 of Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395)

All of this instances of bodies have free access to the public prosecution service. They can request for aid from the public prosecution service if a judicial intervention is necessary.

The public prosecutor has the duty to work in collaboration with the Social Services and Child Protection Agency and the coordination councils within the governorship or district administration.

England and Wales/ Angleterre et le pays de Galle:

Scotland/ Ecosse: While the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service have close relationships with all criminal justice partners, including the local authority social work department and Children’s Reporter, the public prosecutor does not have a specific role or duty in this area in Scotland.

Ukraine: Central and local authorities cooperate with welfare and law-enforcement agencies, including the prosecution services, in order to prevent offences among children and minors, develop the special preventive measures, share information, and discuss the juvenile crime status on a regular basis during the inter-departmental coordination meetings, schedule specific actions for elimination of reasons and conditions nourishing the juvenile delinquency.

Prosecutors supervise over law observance by the Services in Charge of Juveniles and the Criminal Juvenile Militia in their activities, as well as the special institutions for minors. At that, prosecutors perform regular audits; on a monthly basis — at the reception centers for juveniles; on a quarterly basis — at shelters for minors; at lease once in every six months — at secondary schools and vocational schools of social rehabilitation, centers of medical, social and psychological rehabilitation.

Armenia/ Arménie: Prosecutors have no any special functions on this field; they just operate within the powers granted to it by the Constitution and on the basis of the Law on Prosecutor’s office.

Portugal: voir la fin du document

Ireland/ Irlande: No role

Russian Federation/ Fédération de la Russie: The Federal Law No. 120-FZ dated the 24th of June 1999 “On the Foundations of the System for Prevention of Neglect of and Violations of Law by Juveniles” established the scope of agencies and institutions of the prevention system within which fall commissions for juveniles’ matters and protection of their rights, bodies of guardianship and tutelage, social protection of the population, education, healthcare, employment service, on youth matters, bodies of internal affairs, which perform the functions for prevention of neglect, homelessness, violations of law and anti-social actions by juveniles, detection and elimination of causes and conditions favouring this; ensuring the juveniles’ rights and legal interests; social and educational rehabilitation of juveniles being in socially endangered position; detection and suppression of involving juveniles in committing crimes and anti-social actions. The co-ordination of activities for bodies of the prevention system is assigned to commissions in the work of which prosecutors participate. Prosecutors, in accordance with the powers provided to them under the law, exercise supervision over all bodies and institutions of the prevention system; contacts between them may be effected either by way of holding telephone talks or in the course of meetings. Since the supervision activities are carried out by the prosecutor: if violations in the activities of bodies and institutions of the system for prevention of neglect of and violations of law by juveniles are detected, the prosecutor reacts to this by taking necessary measures — that is, he/she files protests against legal enactments that are contrary to the law, makes presentations requesting to eliminate the violations that were detected found and to ensure their prevention in the future, and in certain cases, presentations on bringing to disciplinary liability; initiates administrative proceedings; in the presence of information on preparations for committing violations of law and with a view to their prevention, issues warnings on the inadmissibility of violations of law.

Czech Republic/ République Tchèque: As it has already been specified in answer No 9, due to protection of human rights, participation of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in the civil proceedings is necessary in the matters of social and legal protection of children, in the area of supervision over observance of legal regulations in places where detention, imprisonment sentence, institutional or protective education, security detention is performed and in the area of justice in the matters of young people.  

In the proceedings in the area of family law – social and legal protection of children, the Public Prosecutor’s Office is entitled to propose imposing of an educational measure (ordering of institutional education or its extension, suspension, restriction or deprivation of parent responsibility).

In the area of justice in the matters of young people, for a child under 15 who committed which would be a criminal offence otherwise, the Public Prosecutor’s Office is entitled to propose inflicting of supervision by a probation officer, inclusion in a therapeutic, psychological or another suitable educational programme from the scope of educational care, protection education, educational obligations and educational restrictions. (The prosecutor proposes the specified measures in the proceedings concerning the proposal for imposing of measures pursuant to Act on justice in the matters of young people).

In the area of supervision over detention, Public Prosecutor’s Office is entitled to propose cancellation of the ordered institutional upbringing or cancellation of the proposed protective education. The proposal is based on the knowledge gained from the implementation of supervision over observance of legal regulations in the places where the institutional or protective upbringing is implemented. 

Cyprus/Chypre: - See Q.8.

- If the parent of any child habitually and without reasonable excuse neglect to send the child to a school commits an offence and, therefore, the Attorney General can initiate a prosecution against him/her.

- Since 1998, according to a circular from the Attorney General, all Government Department officers (police officers, social workers, doctors, etc.), to whose attention came a case of domestic violence especially those involving juveniles -  have an obligation to submit a report to the Attorney General within seven days. A team of Law Officers would examine the reports and give directions.

- The Attorney General’s Office participate in a number of National Committees and Organizations working in the field of juvenile justice.

France: oui le procureur  saisit  les services compétents pour la mise en place des mesures de protection, il veille au bon fonctionnement des établissements (foyers d’accueil )  situés dans son ressort  et s’y rend régulièrement . Il dispose de correspondants dans les établissements scolaires et de brigades d’enquêtes spécialisées (dans les grandes agglomérations).

Georgie/Georgia: In the regions where project Community Prosecution is implemented prosecutors are obliged to participate in social activities which serve as one of the most effective means of reinforcement of the social role and status of a prosecutor in public perception. It includes both introductory activities (public seminars for students, lectures, reports before the local governmental units, social discussion, etc) and more specific activities (for example, the fight against drugs, the problem of homeless children, religious intolerance, etc) like sports, creative, entertainment, social work and other similar activities.

Lettonie/Latvia: Any person has rights to apply to the Prosecution Office in respect of possible violation of the Law, including any violation towards the juvenile. Phones and e-mail addresses of the Prosecution Office are publicly available and theses communication means can be used without any restrictions. 

Moldova: In case of identifying children who need special protection and, according to those needs, the prosecutor collaborate and cooperate with institutions in this field.

Monaco : Le Procureur reçoit systématiquement les décisions du Juge tutélaire en matière éducative et peut solliciter de ce magistrat tous renseignements et tous rapports. C’est le Juge tutélaire qui est en rapport constant avec les services sociaux et éducatifs concernant l’application des mesures. Le Procureur dispose de la possibilité de demander au Juge tutélaire une modification des mesures prises, si elles ne s’avèrent plus adaptées.

Allemagne/Germany : Within the local frameworks, prosecutors play an important role in crime prevention measures that are taken by the administration.  Fore example, there are designated correspondents for schools or soccer-hooligans.

Montenegro: - By adopting new Law on Juvenile Justice, Montenegro will work on creating of action plans which will further define activities of state prosecutors together with other institutions such as shelters, schools etc.

Hongrie: In Hungarian criminal law corrective education is the exclusive special measure only applicable against a juvenile. It is proposed by the juvenile prosecutor if the education of the juvenile in a reformatory is necessary for the successful correctional education. This measure is justified in cases when the juvenile has to be removed from his/her usual environment but the sentencing to imprisonment is not necessary.

Juvenile prosecutors help the court establish the facts with reference to the juvenile’s personality and the relevant aspects of his/her environment and take relevant facts into account when sentencing the juvenile. Already in the course of the investigation the prosecutor is obliged to explore whether the investigative authority possess an environmental scanning including the data registered by the educational institution or information from the employer. If regarded necessary the prosecutor enters into relations with the probation officer and the educational institution.

Liechtenstein: None

Serbie: The public prosecutor is authorized to initiate the criminal proceedings.

Iceland : No specific role.

Albania/Albanie: The prosecutors do not seem to play any direct or significant role in protecting or educating juveniles.

11.  Quel est le rôle du procureur dans les cas de soustraction d'un enfants par un parent et d'autres cas qui relèvent du droit de la famille ?

What is the role of public prosecutors in child abduction cases by one parent and other family related cases?

Belgium/ Belgique : Les demandes fondées sur la Convention de La Haye du 25 octobre 1980 et tendant à obtenir la remise de l’enfant dans un autre Etat suite à un déplacement ou un non-retour illicite (ou un droit de visite) sont soumises au président du tribunal de première instance qui est établi au siège de la Cour d’appel dans le ressort duquel l’enfant est présent ou a sa résidence habituelle au moment du dépôt ou de l’envoi de la requête (C. jud., art. 1322bis et 587, al. 1).  Le président statue comme en référé (C. jud. 1322sexies).

La requête est signée et présentée au président du tribunal par le Ministère public (C. jud., art. 1322quinquies, al. 1 et 728, al. 5)

Ce principe souffre d’une exception.  En cas de conflit d’intérêt dans le chef du Ministère public, la requête sera signée et présentée au président du tribunal par l’avocat désigné par l’Autorité Centrale (C. jud., art. 1322quinquies, al. 2).

Croatia/ Croatie : Regarding the work of State Attorney’s Offices on criminal offences against marriage, family and youth, and other criminal offences in which an injured person is a child or a juvenile, State Attorney’s Office acts when it gains knowledge of commitment of such criminal offence, that is, when it receives a criminal report after which it reaches a decision based on merits and present indictment documents before court.

Denmark/ Danemark: In child abduction cases the prosecutor is responsible for prosecuting the case against the offender. There have, however, been cases, where the Prosecution Service has been involved in the safe return of the child by issuing a guarantee to the abducting parent stating that if the child is returned safely within a set period of time the Prosecution Service will waiver prosecution of the case. 

Espagne:

Estonia/ Estonie : In Estonia, prosecutor’s offices have no competence outside criminal proceedings.

Finland/ Finlande: Public prosecutors are not involved in civil and/or administrative proceedings concerning juveniles.

Greece/ Grèce: Public Prosecutor orders holding investigation (preliminary investigagion) or exercises penal prosecution against the perpetrator, giving order to Police for his apprehension and direct referral to trial. However, even after the condemnatory sentence of perpetrator-parent by competent penal courts, the problems concerning minors’ custody remain, until they are definitely resolved by competent civil courts.

Italy/ Italie: The public prosecution office can be invested by the central conventional Authority in case of international child abduction (according to The Hague Convention).

As far as an internal abduction case in concerned, the prosecution office acts as specified above in § 8. It starts the search of the child, conducts investigations and takes appropriate initiatives (also with respect to the parental authority).

Netherlands/ Pays-Bas: The Public Prosecution Service has two tasks.

a. Prosecution

The intentional removal of a minor from the authority under which he has been lawfully placed or from the supervision of a person authorised to exercise such supervision is a criminal offence in the Netherlands. Under article 279 of the Criminal Code, this offence carries a term of imprisonment not exceeding six years, or a fourth-category fine.

b.         Assistance in tracing and returning abducted children

The Central Authority can ask the Public Prosecution Service for help in tracing a child. Section 9 of the International Abduction of Children (Implementation of Conventions) Act reads as follows.

            Section 9

1. If the Central Authority requires the cooperation of police officers in order to trace         the whereabouts of a child in the Netherlands it may approach the public prosecutor   in the court district where the child is thought to be, or in The Hague court         district. The public prosecutor may transfer the case, subject to instructions given by       him, to a public prosecutor in another court district, if efforts to trace the child are    to be pursued in that district.

            2. The public prosecutor referred to in subsection 1 gives priority to requests for    assistance from the Central Authority.

3. Police officers instructed to assist in tracing the whereabouts of a child may enter any premises for this purpose provided it is reasonably necessary for the performance of their duties.

Poland/ Pologne: Polish Penal Code in the Article 211 states that any person who abducts or detains a minor below the age of 15 or a person who is helpless because of mental or physical reason (contrary to the will of the person appointed to take care of or supervise) shall be subject to a penalty of deprivation of freedom of up to 3 years.

The offence of child abduction is prosecuted by the public prosecution (indictable offences) and the prosecutor shall initiate proceedings in the normal manner. In Polish legal system for such cases has not been provided a particular type of criminal conduct.

Slovak Republic/ République Slovaque: Child abduction by the non-custodial parent is under Sec. 210 of the Criminal Code classified as a crime. Should the prosecutor learn about the child abduction, he shall initiate due investigation of the case by the police and based on the result of the investigation he will decide how to proceed in the case; indictment with formal charges shall be brought to a court of law. Any necessary measures to be taken in relation to the abducted minor child shall be taken by child-welfare agencies and social agents, or by the Centre for the International Legal Protection of Children and Youth (Centrum pre medzinárodno-právnu ochranu detí). The prosecutor does not have the power to enforce the return of the child to the custodial parent.

Romania/ Roumanie: If there are indications or information concerning the committing of an offence – the non-compliance with the measures regarding the entrusting of the minor, provided in article 307 of the Criminal Code or others, the prosecutor shall be notified ex officio and may order the initiation of the criminal investigation and measures related to the investigation. If the deed is not an offence, the role of the prosecutor is restricted to the judicial activity and it is stated in article 45 of the Civil procedure Code.

In case of family abandonment or harmful treatment applied to the minor offences, foreseen by articles 305 and 306 of the Criminal Code, the prosecutor shall also act in the same manner.

The prosecutor cannot order provisional or placement measures.

In the international child abduction cases, the prosecutor has specific attributions.

Thus, according to art. 6 of the Law no. 369/2004 un the application of the Convention on the civil aspects of international child abduction, adopted in the Hague on October 25th 1980, to which Romania acceded through the Law no. 100/1992, “The cases concerning the execution of the requests for the restitution of a child on the territory of Romania under the provisions of art. 3 of the Convention (abovementioned) are dealt with in an urgent manner. The participation is compulsory.”

Slovenia/ Slovénie: In such cases social work centres have the most important role. They gather participants from the police, prosecutors, school workers, doctors, etc and discus individual cases and measures which will be applied. There is also a possibility to take the child from the family and place him in special “safe house” or placing him to fostering.

Sweden/ Suède: Only in cases where the child abduction is regarded as a crime, it is a matter for the Police and the prosecutor and it will be an investigation, trial etc.

Turkey/ Turquie: Turkey has signed The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

The central authorithy which receives  the requests for the return of the abducted children is the Ministry of Justice.

 If the abducted child resided before the abduction in Turkey and  was at that time under 16 the local public prosecution services are functioning as application authorities for the returning of the child.

The application shall contain  according the Convention:

“a)  information concerning the identity of the applicant, of the child and of the person alleged to have removed or retained the child;

b) where available, the date of birth of the child;

c) the grounds on which the applicant's claim for return of the child is based;

d) all available information relating to the whereabouts of the child and the identity of the person with whom the child is presumed to be.

The application may be accompanied or supplemented by –

e) an authenticated copy of any relevant decision or agreement;

f) a certificate or an affidavit emanating from a Central Authority, or other competent authority of the State of the child's habitual residence, or from a qualified person, concerning the relevant law of that State;

g) any other relevant document.”

If the child who is   claimed to be abducted reside in Turkey,  the documents including the same information given above, but this time prepared by the foreign authorities has to  be sent via the Turkish Ministry of  Justice to the local Turkish public prosecution services, where the  abducted child is.

The local public prosecution service has the duty to try to find a friendly solution for the returning of the child. But if the parent who abducted the child refuses to deliver him the public prosecution service has according the law No:5717 to file a suit at the family court for  getting a  verdict on the returning of the  abducted child.

The costs of the trial have to be paid buy the prosecution service but a restitution of the one who turned out to be in the wrong is obligatory.

If the  family court decides for the return of the child, the related public prosecution service has the duty to demand the return of the child trough  Enforcement law.

England and Wales/ Angleterre et le pays de Galle: Where a criminal offence has been committed and has been investigated by the police, prosecutors will apply the Code for Crown Prosecutors (see above at Q1) in making a decision about whether or not to prosecute. Where there are parallel proceedings, ie criminal and civil/family proceedings involving the same child(ren), prosecutors and police will need to ensure relevant information / evidence is shared appropriately between the two courts so that consistent decisions can be made in the interests of the child and in the interests of justice.

Scotland/ Ecosse: In such cases the Procurator Fiscal will be involved if it is likely that a prosecution will arise in such cases. Otherwise the public prosecutor has no role or remit in this area.

Ukraine: In cases of child abduction by one parent or in other family-related cases when interference of the prosecution service is required, a public prosecutor shall act within limits of his/her competence with due regard for the circumstances. If signs of a crime covered by paragraph 2 of Article 146 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal confinement or abduction of a person, in particular, committed in regard of a minor) are available, the prosecutor shall verify the case under the procedure established by Article 97 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine and resolves on opening a criminal case or on refusal in opening a criminal case.

Article 162 of the Family Code of Ukraine stipulates legal consequences of illegal conduct of one parent or another person at determination of the place of residence of a minor. Subject to the above referred provision, if one parent changes a place of residence of a child without consent of another parent, including child abduction, the court shall issue an order on withdrawal of a child and return his/her to the previous place of residence without delay upon a claim of the person concerned. The prosecutor shall have the right to file the relevantclaim on behalf of a child.

Armenia/ Arménie: It is regulated in general  by provisions the Criminal Procedural and Criminal Codes of Armenia.

Portugal: voir la fin du document

Ireland/ Irlande: The Office would have a role where it is sought to prosecute the parent for abduction. Abduction of a child by one parent is an offence under Irish law by virtue of section 16 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997. However, the Office would have no role in securing the return of the child. The Office also has no role in relation to family matters.

Russian Federation/ Fédération de la Russie: The role of prosecutors in civil cases connected with family law relationships is insignificant. Typically, parents resolve disputes concerning the determination of the child’s domicile, the participation in his/her upbringing/education, the procedure of interaction with a juvenile, in court. In Russia, in such cases the participation of the prosecutor is not provided by law. However, the prosecutor may file an action or take part in such a process when the issue of deprivation (limitation) of parental rights is addressed.This being said, from June 2009 the restriction of the prosecutor’s right to apply to the court which is established by Article 45 of the Code of Civil Procedure, does not apply to the prosecutor’s submission made on the grounds of citizens’ applications to him/her concerning the protection of their (violated or disputed) social rights, freedoms and legal interests in the sphere of protection of family, maternity, paternity, and childhood; social protection, including social welfare; ensuring the right for domicile in government and municipal housing facilities; healthcare, including medical aid; ensuring the right to favourable environment; education. In 2009, prosecutors filed to courts more than 86,000 claims in the interests of the juveniles.

Czech Republic/ République Tchèque: Amendment of the Civil procedure Code regulations implemented by Act No 295/2008 Coll. introduced a completely new type of proceedings concerning returning of an underage child in the matters of international kidnapping of children. The main goal is to make the proceedings faster and more efficient and mainly to protect the interests of a kidnapped child.

Public Prosecutor’s Office is entitled to enter the proceedings concerning returning of a child in the matters of international kidnapping of children. The aspect of public interest in entering of the proceedings pursuant to the current court regulations is interest in achieving of

a) closer cooperation of the bodies active in criminal proceedings during implementation of court measures, i.e. supervision over movement of the child in the Czech Republic, 

b) higher ability of action in order to ensure protection of the child

Cyprus/Chypre: - The Republic of Cyprus has acceded to the Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction signed in The Hague on 25.10.1980 which seeks to protect children from the harmful effects of abduction and retention across international boundaries by providing a procedure to bring about their prompt return. For the implementation of the Convention, the Ministry of Justice and Public Order has been assigned as the Central Authority in the cooperation with the competent Central Authorities of other contacting states.

The Attorney General’s Officerepresents the Central Authority in legal proceedings.

(There is also the Regulation (EC) 2201/03 concerning the jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonialmatters and the matters of parental responsibility which is applicable in Cyprus as a member state of the EU).

France: il est chargé de faire respecter la loi et d’assurer la répression de ceux qui violent une décision de justice par exemple en matière de garde d’enfants, de droit de visite du conjoint etc.. en liaison avec les juges aux affaires familiales.

Georgie/Georgia: According to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction the Central Authority, responsible in child abduction matters, is the Ministry of Justice of Georgia. In line with the abovementioned Convention child abduction by one parent is not criminalized in Georgia, therefore no criminal proceedings are initiated against the abducting parent. Accordingly, the public prosecutor’s office of Georgia has no specific role in matters of child Abduction as well as other family related cases. Any application that is received by the public prosecutor’s office regarding child abduction is transmitted to the Ministry of Justice of Georgia (for additional information, please visit http://www.justice.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=GEO&sec_id=208&lang_id=ENG).

Lettonie/Latvia: The Prosecution Office in all cases when information is received on possible illegal infringement of person’s rights, including infringement of rights to the family or illegal restriction of parent’s rights, carries out examination and takes respective decision according to the Law, taking into consideration the nature of violation. Moreover it should be noted that the Criminal Law chapter on the criminal offences against the family and juveniles are enlisted the number of criminally punishable offences, which inter alia provides for a liability for not returning of juvenile and separating of a child from mother, father and guardian. The criminal liability is provided also for kidnapping of a person, including juvenile. Hence Prosecutor in all cases when any information is received on possibly illegal taking over of the juvenile from one parent or guardian must consider whether the constituent elements of the criminal offence exist and must take decision on institution of the criminal procedure and charging of the guilty person with the criminal liability.   (procedure by which Prosecutor reacts to the offence is specified in answer to Part 1, question 8).

Moldova: According to her duties Prosecutor’s office examines complaints about offenses of abduction by close relatives (Article 164/1 of the Criminal Code).

Article 164/1 Criminal Code “abduction of children by close relatives” provides that - abduction of children by close relatives - is punishable by a fine in the amount of up to 300 conventional units or by non-paid work for the community from 180 to 240 hours, or imprisonment for up to 6 months.

Complaints about the commission of these crimes are examined by the prosecutors or the police stations from the place where the offense was committed. In examining allegations about crime prosecutor or police criminal prosecution body started criminal proceedings or refuses to start it.

Monaco : En matière de droit de la famille, le Procureur peut décider de toute enquête ou de toute poursuite en matière pénale. Il peut également ordonner des enquêtes aux fins de localiser un mineur et saisir, le cas échéant, le Tribunal de première instance d’une demande de retour suivant la Convention de La Haye sur l’enlèvement international d’enfants.

Allemagne/Germany : see answer No. 8. and 9.

Montenegro: - In Criminal Procedure Code in Chapter 19th (criminal offences committed against marriage and family) the following criminal offence committed against minor have been prescribed:

·         Extramarital community with a minor “(1) An adult person who lives in an extramarital community with a minor shall be punished by an imprisonment sentence of three months to three years. (2) A parent, adoptive parent or a guardian who enables a minor to live in an extramarital community with another person or incites him/her into it shall be punished by a penalty referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article.  (3) If an act as of Paragraph 2 of this Article is done for gain, the perpetrator shall be punished by an imprisonment sentence of six months to five years. (4) If a marriage is concluded, prosecution shall not be undertaken, and if it is undertaken it shall be stopped. “

·         Depriving of a minor (1) Anyone who unlawfully keeps a minor from his/her parents, adoptive parent, guardian, other person or an institution, se/he has been entrusted with, or deprives them of him/her, or prevents execution of the decision according to which a minor has been entrusted with a particular person, shall be punished by a fine or an imprisonment sentence not exceeding two years. (2) Anyone who prevents execution of a decision of a competent body stipulating the way in which personal relationships between a minor and his/her parent or another relative are to be maintained, shall be punished by a fine or an imprisonment sentence not exceeding one year. (3) If an act as of Paragraph 1 of this Article is done for gain or other base motives or due to it health, upbringing or education of the minor are seriously endangered, the offender shall be punished by an imprisonment sentence of three months to five years. (4) Perpetrator of acts as of Paragraphs 1 and 3 of this Article who voluntarily delivers a minor to a person or an institution s/he has been entrusted with or enables the execution of the decision on entrusting a minor, may be remitted from penalty by a court of law.  (5) If a suspended sentence is pronounced for an act referred to in Paragraphs 1 to 3 of this Article, the court may oblige the perpetrator to deliver the minor within the specified time limit to the person or an institution the minor is entrusted with or to enable execution of the decision on entrusting a minor, or decision stipulating the manner of maintaining the personal relationship between the minor and his/her parents or another relative.”

·         Changing the family status (1) Anyone who changes the family status of a child by setting up, substitution or in some other way shall be punished by an imprisonment sentence ranging of three months to three years.  (2) Anyone who, out of negligence, changes the family status of a child by substitution or in some other way shall be punished by an imprisonment sentence not exceeding one year. (3) An attempted offence as of Paragraph 1 of this Article shall be punished.”

·         Neglecting or abusing a minor (1) A parent, adoptive parent, a guardian or any other person who by gross negligence of his/her duty to take care and bring up a minor he is obliged to take care of, neglects him/her shall be punished by an imprisonment sentence not exceeding three years. (2) A parent, adoptive parent, guardian or other person who abuses a minor or forces him/her to excessive labour or labour not suited to his/her age or to mendicity or for gain leads him into doing other acts detrimental for his/her development, shall be punished by an imprisonment sentence of three months to five years.”

Republic of Macedonia/République de Macédoine: Public prosecutor ex-officio, and after application and the proposal of the party, initiated proceedings in the case of deprivation of a juvenile by one parent or when family violence are carried out.

Hongrie: Pursuant to the legal regulations [7/1988 (VIII. 1) IM ministerial decree] concerning the Hungarian implementation of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abductionin case of the wrongful removal of a child to or from Hungary the minister of justice as Central Authority and the competent civil court are entitled to proceed. The juvenile prosecutor does not act in such procedures. 

Liechtenstein: Child abduction is a criminal offence pursuant to § 194 of the Criminal Code. Depending on the facts of the cases the prosecutor is responsible for prosecuting the abductor. Outside the criminal law the Public Prosecutor has no competence in these cases.

See also reply to 9.

Serbie: The public prosecution co-operates with all other institutions in the course of the protection of juveniles.

Iceland : According to Art. 193 of the General Penal Code No. 19, 1940 anyone depriving parents or other correct parties of the control or custody of a child who is a minor or contributes to evading such control or custody shall be subject to fines or imprisonment for up to 16 years or for life.

Albania/Albanie : In our Criminal Code the unlawful seizure of the child taking him away from the parents or legal representatives constitutes an offence and the prosecutors are expected to initiate investigation and bring criminal action against those who commit such crime.

12.  Quel est le rôle du procureur dans des cas de rétention des mineurs en attente d'expulsion ou d'autres cas ?

What is the role of prosecutor in cases such as placement of juveniles in the name of their self protection or placement of children pending expulsion or any other case?

Belgium/ Belgique : En matière de MENA (mineurs étrangers non-accompagnés), le tribunal de la jeunesse et le procureur interviennent seulement  dans les cas de mineurs qui ont commis des infractions et parfois dans les cas où le mineur est une victime de l’infraction de « traite des êtres humains ». 

L’office d’étrangers est responsable pour l’expulsion des étrangers.

Croatia/ Croatie : After juvenile judge conducts preliminary proceedings and delivers a file to the competent State Attorney, State Attorney may submit proposition for application of educational measure or punishment of a juvenile. Among educational measures prescribed by the Law on Juvenile Courts, State Attorney may suggest to send a juvenile to educational institution, educational centre or special educational institution (institutional measures). These measures are proposed when it is necessary to undertake more permanent and more intensive educational measured towards a juvenile or treatment measures by isolating a juvenile from his/her previous surroundings. Institutional measures are undertaken only as the last possible mean and their duration is prescribed by the Law on Juvenile Courts in the period necessary to achieve the purpose of educational measures. In criminal proceedings where an offence had been committed against a child or a juvenile, or when a child is a perpetrator of a criminal offence, if it is necessary to separate a child or a juvenile from their families for their protection, and to enable their development and education, State attorney’s Office does not only conduct actions with the aim or realisation of separation and placement into appropriate institution, but those actions are exclusively conducted by the Social Service Centres. In such cases State Attorney’s Office may, in the course of the entire procedure, warn, signal to Social Service Centres the situations and families which need to be examined to consider separation of a child or a juvenile from the family.

                 

The Republic of Croatia passed the Law on Juvenile Courts in 1997. That was the first time we had a unique legal act which entirely regulates legal position of juvenile perpetrators of criminal offences. The Law entered into force on 1st January 1998, and it had only one amendment and change since then in 2002 (NN 12/2002). On that occasion there were no significant changes made in relation to existing legal position of young perpetrators. By this Law entire material and procedural position of a juvenile, younger adults and legal protection of children and juveniles is regulated within one law. With the aim of further upgrade and improvement of solutions from the existing legal text, and taking into consideration and accepting the most recent accomplishments and information form the filed of intervention of society towards younger perpetrators of criminal offences, the Law on Juvenile Courts will be amended . The Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Croatia passed the Final proposition of the Law on the amendments of the Law on Juvenile Courts in October 2006. This Final proposition is being review by the Work group for drafting of the Bill of the Law on the amendments of the Law on Juvenile Courts. This Work group was formed with the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Croatia. Representatives of the State Attorney’s Offices and courts, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Ministry of Interior Affairs, the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Special Education and rehabilitation are appointed as members of Working group. Working group is examining the Final proposition of the  Law on the amendments of the Law on Juvenile Courts from October 2006 and all other propositions whose aim is to enable implementation of the law within application of general law (Criminal Procedure Act passed on 15th December 2008 which significantly changed the role of the State Attorney from preliminary proceedings to final ending of the criminal procedure, and which will enter into force on 1st September 2011, as well as the Criminal Code whose amendments are underway).

Danemark: See the answer to question 1

Spain/ Espagne:

Estonia/ Estonie: In Estonia, prosecutor’s offices have no competence outside criminal proceedings.

Finland/ Finlande: Public prosecutors are not involved in civil and/or administrative proceedings concerning juveniles.

Grèce: Minors Public Prosecutor, in cases that he/she orders the removal of the minor from his/her family environment and his placement in some institution (see questions 7 and 9), also decides in which institution or in which third party each minor will be hosted, gives the respective orders to the competent agents and is competent for the issues concerning visits and necessary medical examinations, procedures etc., until the minor’s custody is assigned by the competent civil court to a particular person or institution. On the contrary, he has no competency in case of expatriation of a minor by the administrative authorities.

Italy/ Italie: The public prosecutor has no direct powers to order measures such as the placement of juveniles in the name of their self protection, but can take initiatives in their interest in front of the juvenile court. In case of urgency, when a serious danger threatens the child, administrative authorities (Mayor, police, social services) can adopt provisional measures (also removing the child from his/her family). Immediate information must be given to the public prosecution office for juveniles, competent to present a request of confirmation to the juvenile court.

Netherlands/ Pays-Bas: The Psychiatric Hospitals (Committals) Act (BOPZ) protects people who are admitted to hospital involuntarily and sets out their rights while committed. The Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport bears primary responsibility for the Act and          policy related to the Act.

Poland/ Pologne: Such measures are provided in the Act on on the proceedings in juveniles cases and in the Family and Custodianship Code. Jurisdiction in these matters has the competent family court.

Slovak Republic/ République Slovaque: Measures to be taken with a view to protecting the child´s life and his health, as well as with a view to promoting his mental and physical development as well as the return and travel of the child within the Slovak Republic without accompanying persons fall within the scope of powers of child-welfare agencies and social agents. Deportation (expulsion) orders imposed on juvenile offenders are enforced by judicial authorities without the involvement of prosecutors.

Romania/ Roumanie: The measures for the special protection of the child are provided in the Law No.272/2004 on the protection and promotion of the children’s rights.

The special protection measures – placement, the urgent placement and specialized supervision (article 55) – are established by: the commission for the child’s protection or by the court, upon the request of the general directorate for social assistance and child’s protection (article 61), the director of the general directorate for social assistance and child’s protection or by the court (article 65), respectively the commission for the child’s protection or by the court (article 67). The competent court shall always be the tribunal. According to article 124, “the cases foreseen by the present law concerning the establishment of the special protection measures lie under the competence of the tribunal where the child has his/her residence”.

According to art. 124 and 125 of the Law no. 272/2004, “The cases stipulated by the present law concerning the establishment of the special protection measures fall under the competence of the tribunal (…)” and “are subject to expeditious trials, and involve the summoning of the child’s legal representative, and of the general department for social security and child protection, as well as the mandatory participation of the prosecutor.

The hearing of the child who attained the age of 10 years is obligatory. The child capable to discern has the right to freely express his/her opinion over any matter of his/her concern. In the cases dealing with the settlement of a special protection measure for the abused or neglected child, the hearing of the child shall be done only in the council room, in the presence of a psychologist and only after a preliminary preparation of the child to this effect.

Slovenia/ Slovénie: State prosecutor has only minor role in such cases. This is more or less question for child care experts.

Sweden/ Suède: The prosecutor has no role in cases such as placement of juveniles in the name of their self protection or placement of children pending expulsion or any other case. These issues are also for the social authorities to deal with.

Turkey/ Turquie: According the article 9 of the Juvenile Protection Law (No: 5395), In case of a situation which requires taking the juvenile under immediate protection, the juvenile shall be taken under care and supervision by the Social Services and Child protection Agency, and then the Agency shall apply to the juvenile judge within five days at the latest following the day the Juvenile was brought to the Agency, in order for an urgent protection decision. The judge shall decide with regard to the request within three days. The judge may decide for keeping the juvenile’s location confidential and, when necessary, establishment of personal contact.

An urgent protection decision can only be rendered for a limited period of maximum thirty days. Within this period, the Agency shall carry out a social enquiry regarding the juvenile. If, following the enquiry, the Agency concludes that there is no need to decide for a measure, it shall notify the judge of its opinion and the services it will provide. Whether the juvenile is to be delivered to his/her family or whether any other measures are to be taken shall be decided by the judge.

In case the Agency concludes that a measure is required for the juvenile, it shall file a request to the judge demanding for a protective and supportive measure.

It is accepted that in urgent cases the court can decide ex officio on an urgent protection decision and this decision has not to be compulsory sent to the  Social Services and Child Protection Agency. The court can decide to submit the decision directly to the public prosecution service for its execution.

England and Wales/ Angleterre et le pays de Galle:

Scotland/ Ecosse: In Scotland, the public prosecutor does not have a direct role to play in this area. If however any conduct arises which is criminal in nature, such as neglect of the child etc., the local procurator fiscal will, on information provided by the police, consider whether a prosecution is necessary or possible.

Ukraine: In order to protect a child’s rights, the prosecutor shall have the right to file a claim for deprivation of the parental rights of parents who neglected their parental duties or for withdrawal a child from a family and placement with a welfare institution etc.

Prosecutors shall resort to all forms of representative activities when protecting social, housing, and pecuniary rights of minors in court. At that, prosecutors shall have the right to file claims for restoration of affected rights and claims against illegal change of specialization and alienation of child institutions, utilization of budgetary funds allocated for implementation of the child programs, for illegitimate purposes. They use materials of prosecutor’s audits, criminal cases, citizen appeals, information from public authorities responsible for protection of the minor’s rights.

Armenia/ Arménie: Prosecutors have no any special functions on this field; they just operate within the powers granted to it by the Constitution and on the basis of the Law on Prosecutor’s office.

Portugal: voir la fin du document

Ireland/ Iralnde: The office has no role.

Russian Federation/ Fédération de la Russie: The Administrative Offences Code of the Russian Federation establishes the procedure for the administrative detention of juveniles. Every case of detention of a juvenile is controlled by prosecutors for legality of actions performed by the official that carried out the detention. If violations are detected, the prosecutor frees the detained person that is subject to transfer to his/her parents or legal representatives.

Czech Republic/ République Tchèque: Code of Criminal proceedings regulates the institution of secret witnesses.

If the circumstances found suggest that a witness's or a person's health related to him/her is endangered or another grave danger of their basic right threatens and if such witness's protection cannot be ensured in any other manner, the agency involved in the criminal proceedings shall take up measures to conceal and make secret  the identity and the face of the witness; the first name and last name and other personal data of his/her are not mentioned in the record but kept separately from the criminal file and may be disclosed to the agencies involved in the criminal proceedings in the given case only. The witness shall be informed of the right to ask for concealment of his/her face and to sign the record by a first name and last name thought out under which the witness's actual personal data are filed.  If the protection of such persons is to be provided, the agency involved in the criminal proceedings takes up immediately all the required measures. Special method of protecting witness and persons related to them is provided under the specific law. If the grounds for concealing the face of the witness and separate filing of his/her personal data disappear, the agency involved in and conducting the criminal proceedings at that time attaches such data to the criminal file, and the witness's face is not concealed any more.

On 1st June 2001, the Act no. 137/2001 Coll., on special protection of a witness and other persons in connection with criminal proceedings, and on amendments of the Act no. 99/1963 Coll., Rules of Civil Procedure, came into operation. It means the possibility of protection, relocation, help in social integration in a new environment, concealment of real identity. It is worth to refer to § 55 par. 2, Code of Criminal proceedings, which relates to procedure in protection of a witness in criminal proceedings.

Special means of the witness's protection regulates the Act no. 137/2001 Coll., on special protection of a witness and other persons in connection with criminal proceedings. They are personal protection, removal protected persons incl. members of household, promoting of protected persons for the purposes their social participation in new surroundings and the camouflage of actual identity of these persons.

The witness's protection Ministry of Interior authorizes (public prosecutors or judges brings relevant proposition by means of Ministry of Justice).

Cyprus/Chypre: see Q. 8

France: il doit saisir l’autorité administrative (préfectorale) compétente et si un mineur est en danger provoque la prise de décision de protection par le juge des enfants.

Georgie/Georgia: Prosecutor has no role in expulsion cases.

Lettonie/Latvia: The functions of the Prosecutor do not include taking of decision regarding placement of juvenile in the specialized institutions for his/her protection, nevertheless Prosecutor has no restrictions to request that responsible institutions take any measure for safeguarding of juvenile’s rights. In case if Prosecutor has received an information on possible breach of law or infringement of juveniles’ rights, Prosecutor within his/her competence may take an examination.  (procedure as Prosecutor reacts to the breach of law is specified in answer to Part 1, question 8).

Moldova:It was stated in p. 8.

Monaco : Aucun mineur ne fait l’objet en Principauté d’une mesure de rétention. Si un mineur seul devait se trouver illégalement sur le sol monégasque, il ferait l’objet d’un placement en foyer ordonné par le Juge tutélaire et sous le contrôle de ce magistrat, saisi par le Procureur Général, dans l’attente d’une solution pérenne à sa situation.

Allemagne/Germany : see answer No. 8. and 9.

Montenegro: - According to the article 487 of the Criminal Procedure Code in the course of the pre-trial proceedings, the judge for juveniles may order a minor be placed in a shelter, educational or other similar institution, or to be placed under the supervision of a juvenile welfare authority or moved to another family, if this is necessary to separate the minor from the environment he lives in, for providing an assistance to him, or for the protection or housing of the minor.”

Republic of Macedonia/République de Macédoine: The Public Prosecutor has no role or a legal obligation about employment, education of juveniles who appear as perpetrators of crimes, while the expulsion of foreigners-juvenile is under the Criminal Code.

Hongrie: cf réponse question 11

Liechtenstein: The public prosecutor has no direct powers to order measures such as the placement of juveniles in the name of their self protection, but can take initiatives in their interest in front of the juvenile court. In case of urgency, when a serious danger threatens the child, administrative authorities (Mayor, police, social services) can adopt provisional measures (also removing the child from his/her family.

Serbie :

Iceland:  According to Article 20 of the Child Protection Act no. 80/2002, the police are obligated to collaborate with the child protection committees and to provide assistance in resolving cases. The police and prosecution are linked so collaboration with child protection committees is also the prosecutions duty.

Albania/Albanie: There is no any specific provisions in the CPC relating to the role of the prosecutor on placement of juveniles in need of protection or of those pending expulsion.

III.  Autres remarques et particularités qui vous paraissent devoir être signalées et touchant au rôle des procureurs de votre pays en matière de justice des mineurs / III.Any other remarks and peculiarities which could be indicated, according to you, and which concern the role of public prosecutors in your country vis-à-vis juvenile justice.

Denmarkk/ Danemark: The Danish Government is currently considering lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years. Furthermore, the Government is considering amending the Danish Criminal Code so that the limit on the time of imprisonment for young offenders described under question 4 is replaced by a section stating that a person, who was below the age of 18 at the time of committing the offence, cannot receive a life sentence.

Estonia/ Estonie: A body conducting proceedings should, upon disclosing data regarding pre-trial proceedings, primarily consider the interests of a minor and if possible, ensure his or her anonymity.

An application should always be submitted for declaring a court session to be held in camera if a minor is a victim in offences against sexual self-determination and against family and minors. In other criminal matters, the need for submitting an application for declaring a court session to be held in camera should be assessed according to the interests of the minor.

Proceedings of a criminal matter of a minor should always be conducted within the shortest possible period of time.

Slovak Republic/ République Slovaque: We would like to see the establishment of specialised criminal benches at all levels of our court system, which would deal with the juvenile crime cases. Such specialisation in juvenile crime would also be very helpful within the police to make sure that juvenile offenders and those who cannot be held criminally liable due to their age will be dealt with by duly qualified police officers having necessary experience.

In order to protect children´s rights and legitimate interests duly and properly, it would be very helpful to extend the scope of the prosecutor´s powers mainly in the field of civil justice. The prosecutor could have more powers to put forward proposal to the civil court in those cases where the child´s rights and freedoms have been violated. This also applies to denials of paternity, with respect to which the prosecutor (rather ineffectively) cannot exercise any powers.

Slovenia/ Slovénie: Up to 1 November 2008 our old Criminal Code contained provisions for adults and juveniles. With the new Criminal Code, the provisions regarding juveniles were omitted, because totally new Criminal Code for juveniles is being prepared. But until this new legislature enters into force, the provisions of old Criminal Code sill apply for juveniles.

England and Wales/ Angleterre et pays de Galle: The Crown Prosecution Service is committed to the policy of Safeguarding Children and Young People, whether the child/young person is a victim, witness or defendant. Safeguarding includes promoting the welfare of children.

The Safeguarding policy, in brief, requires prosecutors to carry out their functions in the context of protecting children from maltreatment; preventing impairment of children's health or development; ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and undertaking this role so as to enable those children to have optimum life chances and to enter adulthood successfully.

Monaco : Depuis 2006, la Principauté a adopté, le 26 décembre 2007, la loi n° 1344 relative au renforcement de la répression des crimes et délits contre l’enfant destinée à améliorer la lutte contre les violences faites aux mineurs et est très impliquée dans la protection des mineurs tant au niveau national qu’international. S’agissant des infractions pédo-pornographiques, la Principauté a mis en place une action de prévention et de filtrage des sites Internet de cette nature. En pratique, le système permet de bloquer l’accès aux sites signalés et de mieux lutter ainsi contre les contenus illégaux sur Internet. Le Procureur veille à ce que ces engagements en faveur des mineurs soient mis en pratique au quotidien.

Allemagne/Germany : In addition to the wide range of prevention measures to protect people and society from crimes and victimisation the investigation and prosecution activities and measures play an important role in combating juvenile criminality. Statistics seem to prove that the German criminal justice system is working efficiently. Only thirty percent of the offenders have committed second ore more crimes. The criminological and statistical results seem to prove that the basic principle of German juvenile justice, the principle of education and discipline remains valid. In this field, Prosecutors have the responsibility from the beginning of the criminal proceedings, have to decide whether to drop the cases or to prosecute with appropriate measures or to ask for prison sentences as a measure of last resort.

Montenegro: New Law on Juvenile Justice introduced changes concerning principle of opportunity. According to the provisions of the existing Criminal Procedure Code the State Prosecutor may decide not to request that the criminal proceedings be instituted for criminal offences punishable by imprisonment for a maximum term not exceeding  five years, while now draft law provides  possibility to apply principle of opportunity for criminal offences punishable by imprisonment for a maximum term not exceeding  eight years.

State Prosecutor after adoption of a new law will have monitoring role together with judge for juveniles, on practicing of corrective measures.  Competent State Prosecutor has duty to visit juvenile in an institution in which he serves his corrective measure and competent tutelary authority has duty to send report on the execution course of the corrective measure every six months to the Court and to the State Prosecutor.

Also, State Prosecutor monitors implementation of diversion order by assessing reports sent by competent tutelary authority.

Iceland:  

Attached are the Director of Public Prosecutions' Rules no. 9/2009 concerning coercive measures taken against children under the age of 15. 


Réponses du Portugal

Dans les réponses présentées on a procédé à une modification de l'ordre des questions formulées, dans le but de recueillir des bénéfices de leur ajustement sur la façon comme, en général, est organisé le système portugais de justice juvénile.

Ainsi:

Système de Justice pour Mineurs

Au Portugal, le système de justice pour mineurs peut se dessiner à partir de trois grands axes:

a) tutélaire civil – où essentiellement on règle le lien des mineurs[14] à la famille (réglementation des responsabilités parentales[15]/ autorité parentale; inhibition du pouvoir parental; investigation d’office de paternité/matem âge; adoption; tutelle, etc.), Code civil et organisation tutélaire de mineurs (OTM);

b) promotion et protection- adressé aux enfants et jeunes, de 0 à 18 ans, pouvant être étendu jusqu’à 21 ans, qui se trouvent en situation de danger pour leur sécurité, leur santé, leur formation, leur éducation ou leur développement, et ne disposant pas de support familier capable d’écarter tel danger - loi sur la protection des enfants et des jeunes en danger (LPCJP) (loi nº 147/99, de 1er septembre, qui est entrée en vigueur le 1.1.2001)

c) tutélaire éducatif – adressé aux jeunes, de 12 à 16[16] ans, qui pratiquent des faits qualifiés par la loi de crime - loi tutélaire éducative (LTE) ((loi n.º 166/99, du 14 septembre, qui est entrée en vigueur le 1.1.2001).

La politique générale, qui préside à un quelconque de ces axes, contient dans sa genèse la défense du supérieur intérêt de l'enfant ou du jeune, le Ministère public (procureurs) exerçant dans sa poursuite, et en général, la fonction de magistrature d'initiative.

II

Le Ministère Public dans le Système de Justice pour Mineurs

Ainsi, incombant au Ministère public, d’après la loi, la défense et la représentation des mineurs[17], il lui appartient et il a la légitimité pour:

a) dans le domaine tutélaire civil - de nature essentiellement judiciaire, entamer des initiatives processuelles visant à la régularisation des rapports entre parents et enfants ou à la définition de la situation juridique de l'enfant ou du jeune.

Dans les cas de divorce par consentement mutuel, l'accord des parents concernant la réglementation de l'exercice des responsabilités parentales est soumis à l'homologation du Ministère public, étant dispensée l'intervention judiciaire.

Dans ce domaine, l'assistance technique auprès du tribunal (juge/ministère public) est assurée, en particulier, par l'Institut de sécurité sociale, I.P. (IPP, I.P. ), et, dans les questions d’expertise du for de la santé, par les services médicaux du service national de santé et de l'institut de médecine légale.

En général, dans ce type de procédures, dès que l’on vérifie qu’il n’y a pas de consensus entre les parents, le mineur impliqué, indépendamment de son âge[18], est entendu par le tribunal, à moins que des circonstances sérieuses le déconseillent.

Cette audition (prise de déclarations) du mineur, présidée par le juge et en présence du procureur, est entourée des plus grandes précautions, ayant lieu, en principe, dans un milieu informel et calme, pouvant, si tel s’avère utile et nécessaire, être assisté par un technicien spécialisé.

Dépendant toujours des particularités concrètes du cas, on n'exclut pas la possibilité de la réalisation de ces auditions dans une salle de visualisation unidirectionnelle[19].

Dès qu’il s’avère possible et nécessaire, et dans le but d’éviter des répétions de dépositions du mineur, les magistrats du Ministère public de l’aire tutélaire civile et du crime articulent entre eux des procédures et stratégies.

b) dans le domaine de la promotion et protection, établir le pont entre les commissions de protection d'enfants et jeunes (CPCJ)[20] et le tribunal, dans la certitude que, dans cette matière, la primauté de la compétence incombe aux CPCJ, le tribunal disposant de compétence subsidiaire.

Dans cette mesure, il appartient au Ministère public, d’après la loi, la fiscalisation et la surveillance de l’activité des CPCJs (article 72 LPCJP), et, lorsque c’est le cas de transition vers le Tribunal, il lui appartient également, et en exclusif, d’entamer la procédure de promotion et de protection respective, ainsi qu’accompagner, en intervenant, dans la prise de décision judiciaire, en se prononçant sur la mesure à appliquer, sur son exécution, sa révision et cessation.

De même ici, les assistances techniques sont assurées tel qu’il est précédemment mentionné pour l’aire tutélaire civile.

Dans les procédures judiciaires de promotion et protection, l'audition de l'enfant ou du jeune est obligatoire et se déroule de façon identique à celles susmentionnées, vis-à-vis de l’aire tutélaire civil.

c) dans le domaine tutélaire éducatif, assumer, exclusivement, la titularité, la conduction et la clôture de l'enquête, c’est-à-dire, dans la première phase de la procédure tutélaire éducative.

Lors de la clôture de l'enquête, le Ministère public peut :

1) classer (soit par l’inexistence ou l’insuffisance d'indices de la pratique du fait, soit par l’inutilité d'application de la mesure tutélaire éducative);

2) suspendre ou

3) requérir l'ouverture de la phase juridictionnelle.

L'application d’une mesure tutélaire éducative[21] est de la compétence exclusive du juge, bien que toujours sous proposition du Ministère public, à qui incombe, aussi, le suivi de son exécution (révision et cessation) de telle mesure.

Dans ce domaine, l'assistance technique auprès du tribunal (juge/Ministère public) est assurée, en particulier, par la Direction générale de réinsertion sociale (DGRS).


III

Justice Tutélaire Éducative: Spécificités

L'intervention tutélaire éducative ne vise pas la punition du jeune, mais plutôt son éducation pour le droit, cherchant à lui inculquer des notions et des valeurs, notamment, de respect, de responsabilité et d'autorité, et à lui proportionner les instruments/outils lui permettant de s'insérer, dans la vie en communauté, de façon digne et responsable.

1- Pour autant, et si nécessaire, le JUGE peut, sous proposition du Ministère public, appliquer au jeune la mesure tutélaire éducative plus onéreuse, du fait que celle-ci implique la perte de liberté: celle de l’internement dans un centre éducatif[22].

Dans n’importe quelle phase de la procédure tutélaire éducative (PTE), et afin de prévenir le danger de fuite, ou le danger de la pratique d’autres faits qualifiés par la loi de crime, une fois vérifiées certaines conditions relatives à la gravité des faits pratiqués,  le juge peut, toujours et seul à la demande du Ministère public pendant la phase d'enquête, appliquer au jeune une mesure conservatoire de garde dans un centre éducatif.

Cette mesure conservatoire de garde a une durée de 3 mois, susceptibles de prorogation jusqu’à la limite maximale de plus de 3 mois, en cas de complexité particulière. En général, et en synthèse, dans le cadre de la procédure tutélaire éducative, il appartient au Ministère public de :

-  diriger l'enquête ;

- promouvoir les démarches qu'il considérera utiles et d’interjeter recours, dans la défense et dans l'intérêt du jeune;

-  promouvoir l’exécution des mesures tutélaires;

-  donner obligatoirement un avis sur les recours, demandes et plaintes formulées ou déposées;

-  donner obligatoirement un avis sur le projet éducatif personnel du jeune assujetti au suivi éducatif ou interné dans un centre éducatif;

-  réaliser des visites aux centres éducatifs et contacter avec les Jeunes internés.

2. Dans la phase d'enquête, est obligatoire l'audition du jeune, diligence présidée, nécessairement et personnellement, par le procureur, et assistée par le défenseur (avocat) que le jeune ait constitué ou que lui ait été nommé par le procureur.

Dans ce type de procédures il est très fréquent d’apparaître comme victime un autre mineur, qui ainsi ait acquis le statut de témoin. L'audition de ce témoin, dès que celui-ci ait moins de 16 ans, lorsque réalisée dans la phase d'enquête, est présidée, nécessairement et personnellement, par le procureur.

En tout cas, et quelle que soit la phase où se trouve la procédure tutélaire éducative, est assuré au témoin – en particulier le témoin mineur - un ensemble de conditions compatibles avec la sauvegarde des vulnérabilités qu’il présente.

3. Dans le système de justice tutélaire éducatif est permise la détention du jeune, en flagrant délit et en dehors du flagrant délit.

La détention en dehors du flagrant délit a seul lieu lorsque la comparution du mineur ne peut pas être assurée par les parents, le représentant légal ou la personne à qui sa garde ait été confiée de fait et a lieu par mandat du juge, sur requête du Ministère public pendant l'enquête et, ensuite, même d’office (article 51, § 2, LTE).

IV

Le Système de Justice pour Mineurs : Spécialisation

La justice pour mineurs est, en règle, enseignée dans un tribunal de compétence spécialisée mixte: le Tribunal aux affaires familiales (TAF).

Dans le TAF, le Ministère public est représenté par un magistrat avec la catégorie intermédiaire de procureur de la République, ce qui signifie que les magistrats du Ministère public seul peuvent exercer des fonctions dans un TAF après avoir 10 ans au minimum de service.

On privilégie ainsi l'expérience de vie, associée à l'expérience professionnelle, en expérimentant aussi d’autres formes qui permettent d’apporter la plus grande consistance possible à la formation spécialisée qu’exige l’exercice de fonctions dans ces lieux.

Ainsi, et par exemple, le centre d'études judiciaires[23], dans son programme de formation permanente de magistrats, fournit, tous les ans, et depuis 20 ans, la fréquence de cours thématiques, multi et interdisciplinaires, dédiés à la juridiction de la famille et des mineurs.

À son tour, les Parquets généraux du district[24] organisent, régulièrement, des rencontres et des actions de formation dans ce domaine, dirigées aux magistrats du Ministère public en exercice de fonctions au TFM.

V

Le Système de Justice pour Mineurs: Le Ministère Public et la Communauté

Dans les dernières années, le Ministère public a développé des expériences de partenariat et de collaboration avec des entités locales et socio-administratives, en particulier dans le domaine du combat au phénomène de la violence domestique, souscrivant et agissant dans cadre de Protocoles qui impliquent des maires, professionnels de la santé, enseignants, polices, techniciens de service social, éléments d'institutions particulières de solidarité sociale, etc.

Outre ceci, et dans le champ spécifique de l'intervention protectrice de mineurs, le Ministère public, malgré le fait que celui-ci n’intègre pas les CPCJs[25], a des pouvoirs et fonctions de surveillance et fiscalisation, étant doté dans chaque CPCJ d’un magistrat du Ministère public interlocuteur, circonstance qui a justifié l’émission récente d'une directive conjointe, souscrite par le procureur général de la République et le Président de la Commission nationale d'enfants et jeunes en risque, ayant en vue l’uniformisation de procédures fonctionnelles entre les magistrats interlocuteurs et les CPCJs.

VI

Régime Criminel Spécial pour Jeunes Délinquants

Il s'agit d'un régime spécial, dirigé aux jeunes qui, à la date de la commission du crime, aient déjà atteint l’âge de 16 ans révolus, sans avoir encore atteint 21 ans (DL n.º 401/82, du 23 septembre).

En traits très généraux, ce régime se traduit dans l'éventuelle:

- atténuation spéciale de la peine d’emprisonnement;

- application subsidiaire du régime tutélaire éducatif;

- substitution de la peine d’emprisonnement par des mesures de correction.

En tout cas, l'application de ce régime est de l'exclusive compétence du juge, ce qui ne dispense pas le Ministère public de, dans la respective procédure, maintenir un rôle actif, en promouvant ce qui, même, lui semblera plus ajusté, en syntonie, d’ailleurs, avec les orientations sur la petite criminalité prévues dans la loi de la politique criminelle pour la biennale 2009-2011[26].

De la conjugaison entre le régime spécial, prévu dans le décret-loi n.º 401/82, du 23 septembre, et les orientations de politique criminelle, contenues dans la loi n.º 38/2009, du 20 juillet, il résulte, pour les jeunes prévenus de moins de 21 ans, un modèle punitif caractérisé, en général, par la préférence accordée aux peines non privatives de liberté, incombant au Ministère public le rôle d’instigateur de ce modèle.

Toutefois, ajoutons que celui-ci est un espace de notre ordre juridique de fragilité reconnue, et qui a suscité un débat et une réflexion, aussi bien dans le champ de la jurisprudence que de la doctrine, étant prévisibles, à court/moyen terme, des mutations, ajustements et investissements sur le plan législatif et politique[27] .



[1] Under Section 41 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. However the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill, which is currently progressing through the Scottish Parliament will seek to raise the age of criminal responsibility to twelve years old, in line with the rest of the United Kingdom.

[2] Further information can be found on the Children’s Reporter system and how it operates in Scotland on their website - http://www.scra.gov.uk/ 

[3] Further information on the criteria on which decisions whether to prosecute are made can be found in the Prosecution Code for Scotland - http://www.copfs.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/13423/0000034.pdf

[4]Section 52 of the Children Act 2001 as amended by section 129 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006

[5]               At the time when children under the age of 14 were criminally responsible, before the enactment of Law 18(I)/2006, only the rest of the methods – a) to e) – were available to deal with them, since imprisonment was strictly prohibited for children.

[6] Articles 33 and 80 of Criminal Code of Georgia (hereinafter CCG).

[7] Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, section 142(1)

[8] Further details and an evaluation on the success of the pilot can be obtained by reading the review report - http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/129603/0030896.pdf

[9] See also White v. Ireland [1995] 2 IR 268.

[10] Section 30 of the Children Act 1908

[11] The interrogation area comprises of two rooms: (1) interrogation room the layout and interior equipment of which corresponds to the requirements for suitable environment for work with children; (2) technical or monitoring room which is equipped with technology for the purposes of making and processing of recordings and it is also intended for passive monitoring of the activities happening in the interrogation room by the participating persons. In the above standard version, there can also be a waiting room - playroom.

[12]          See Kyprianou, D (2009). The Role of the Cyprus Attorney General’s Office in Prosecutions: Rhetoric, Ideology and Practice, Springer, Tornaritis, C. (1983) ‘The Constitutional Power of the Attorney General to institute, carry out and discontinue any criminal proceedings’, 2 Cyprus Law Review, 203 and Loucaides, L. (1974) The Office of the Attorney General of the Republic of Cyprus,, Nicosia: UP.

[13] The various criteria and how to apply is set out on their website - http://www.cica.gov.uk/

[14] "Est considéré comme mineur quiconque n’a pas atteint l’age de dix-huit ans révolus" ; - article 122 du Code civil.

[15] Récemment, par le biais de la loi n.º 61/2008, du 31 octobre, on a procède à la modification de la terminologie, l’"autorité parentale" étant désormais désignée par "responsabilités parentales".

[16] À partir de 16 ans, les mineurs sont pénalement responsables (article 19 du Code pénal).

[17] Article 3 du Statut du Ministère Public (loi n.º 47/86, du 15 octobre).

[18] Modification introduite par la loi n.º 61/2008, du 31 octobre. Jusqu'à alors, seule était obligatoire l'audition du mineur majeur de 14 ans (article 1901, § 2, du Code civil).

[19] À présent, seul le Tribunal aux affaires familiales de Lisbonne est équipé avec ce type d'équipement.

[20] Les CPCJs sont des entités officielles, non judiciaires, de composition interinstitutionnelle et interdisciplinaire, ayant une large liaison à la communauté, et installées dans l’aire de la municipalité. A la fin de l’année 2008, étaient installées, dans le continent et îles, 282 CPCJs.

[21] les mesures tutélaires éducatives prévues à l’LTE sont 9 (article 4):

-   l’admonestation;

-   la privation du droit de conduire des cyclomoteurs ou d’obtenir la permission de conduire des cyclomoteurs;

 - la réparation à la victime;

-   la réalisation de prestations économiques ou de tâches en faveur de la communauté ;

-   l’imposition de règles de conduite;

-   la fréquentation de programmes formatifs;

-   le suivi éducatif;

-   l’internement en centre d’action éducative

[22] En ce moment il y a, dans l’ensemble du pays, 8 Centres éducatifs, dirigés par la Direction générale de réinsertion sociale. Par décision du juge, et sous proposition du Ministère public, la mesure d'internement peut être exécutée en régime ouvert, semi ouvert ou fermé, dépendant de la gravité du fait pratiqué par le jeune et de son âge, dans la certitude que le régime fermé seul peut être appliqué aux jeunes d’un âge supérieur à 14 ans, à la date de l'application de la mesure.

[23] École portugaise de formation de magistrats du siège et du parquet.

[24] Siégés à Lisbonne, Porto, Coimbra et Évora.

[25] La CPCJ est intégrée, notamment, par des représentants de la municipalité; de la sécurité sociale; du Ministère de l’éducation; des institutions particulières de solidarité sociale; des associations de parents, de jeunes et d’organisations privées qui développent des activités sportives, culturelles et récréatives; des forces de sécurité, etc.

[26] Voir, en particulier, les articles 16 et 18 de la loi n.º 38/2009, du 20 juillet, (loi qui définit les objectifs, priorités et orientations de la po1itique criminelle pour la biennale 2000-2011, dans l’accomplissement de la loi n.º 17/2005, du 23 mai (loi cadre de la politique criminelle»).

[27] D’une certaine manière, une indication dans ce sens est, par exemple, la récente résolution de l'assemblée de la République n.º 2/2010, du 6 janvier, qui recommande au Gouvernement la modification de divers aspects de la loi de politique criminelle pour la biennale 2009-2011.